READYING FOR FUTURE BATTLES

THE CONGRESS HOPES TO DO A KARNATAKA IN RAJASTHAN, MADHYA PRADESH AND CHHATTISGARH, STATES THAT ARE SCHEDULED TO GO TO THE POLLS LATER THIS YEAR. CAN THE PARTY REPEAT ITS MAGIC?

- KAUSHIK DEKA with ROHIT PARIHAR and RAHUL NORONHA

Asked whether he would rebel if the high command doesn’t make him the chief minister of Karnataka, Congress leader D.K. Shivakumar, on his way to Delhi on May 16, said that his primary concern was winning at least 20 of the 28 Lok Sabha seats from the state next year. The response could have been an attempt to evade giving a direct answer on the chief ministerial battle, but he rightly picked up the next big challenge, not just for his own party brass but also for rival BJP. The Grand Old Party expects to carry this momentum to 2024 when the Lok Sabha polls will be held, while the saffron party will hope to turn it around, again in its favour.

With 135 seats in the 224-seat assembly, the Congress victory in Karnataka has been massive and has rejuvenated the party leadership and workers across India. This is the second such win against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP in less than six months—it won Himachal Pradesh in December 2022. Many within the party and outside have begun to see this as a revival of the Congress and decline of the Modi magic, which has helped the BJP win two consecutive Lok Sabha polls with massive mandates and form governments in several states as well. Even other Opposition leaders, including West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, who were unwilling to yield the leading space to the Congress, have now changed tune, and have hinted at the possibility of joining hands with the Congress for a larger front against the BJP, provided the Congress allows the regional parties to lead in the regions where they are in command.