Bring out the by-poll laddoos: Is the Congress revival finally here?

New Delhi: As the results of by-polls started coming in on Monday, smiles finally returned to the faces of senior Congress leaders and their allies. The results have given the Congress the feeling that not all is lost for it yet and there are openings for it to crawl back into political relevance. The BJP, which appeared invincible under Narendra Modi, has suddenly started looking a little vulnerable. In battleground Bihar, the grand alliance of the RJD, D(U) and the Congress won six out of the 10 seats that went to polls. The Congress managed to open its account in Bhagalpur, a seat held by the BJP’s Ashwini Choubey since 1990. “I think it’s a setback for the BJP in Bihar, it is also a positive sign for us,” claimed a jubilant Shakeel Ahmad, general secretary and senior Congress leader from Bihar. “I think the “achche din” for our countrymen has not come yet” he added in jest. Move southwards and the story is similar. [caption id=“attachment_1681723” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  AFP[/caption] Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is beaming from ear to ear after having delivered a thumping win in two out of the three assembly seats in the state. He has emerged stronger in the power struggle within the party after the results. More importantly, the Congress wrested the prestigious Bellary Rural seat from the BJP with a clear margin of over 30,000 votes. Former Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa saved BJP the blues as his son Raghavendra managed to hold on to the Shikaripura seat by a slender margin of a few thousand votes. Yeddyurappa has represented this seat six times in the assembly and had led by around 70,000 votes from this segment during the general elections in May this year. “It is a clear indication that people are supporting us and our policies,” says Siddaramaiah. “In Bihar, Punjab, Karnataka, people have already changed their mind about the BJP,” he added. Senior leader Veerappa Moily went a step further: “I thank the people of Karnataka for their verdict and it shows that secular forces have the backing of the electorate,” he said. The Congress managed to retain Patiala in Punjab as Captain Amarinder Singh’s wife won with a comfortable margin, while the ruling SAD managed to win Talwandi Sabo. It was only in Madhya Pradesh that the ruling BJP had the edge by winning two out of three seats. Congress only bagged the Bahoriband seat in the state. The honours seem evenly shared between the Congress and BJP led alliances. While the grand alliance led by Lalu and Nitish had been at the receiving end of some sharp criticism from the BJP for being opportunistic, the latter had to eat some humble pie as the results came out. Voting was around 46 percent this time, which marks a close to 20 percent drop from the voter turnout of over 60 percent in the general elections a few months back. “I don’t think the trend would have changed even if the polling percentage had been higher, only the margins would increase,” says V Mathew, Executive Director, Centre for Market Research and Social Development (CMSD). “It is too early for the Congress to celebrate, yet at the same time the BJP has slipped. They (BJP) dropped the ball and were overconfident against a formidable alliance,” he added. Even though the positive signs for the Congress are entwined with the fact that most wins for the party had personal stamps of regional leaders, it offers a ray of hope for the beleaguered party. The recent win in Uttarakhand was a pointer towards giving a free hand to regional satraps in these trying times. Siddaramaiah, Captain Amarinder and the grand alliance of Bihar, have all ensured that the BJP combine does not run away with the advantage that it had just a few months ago during the general elections. It is also a pointer that the Congress will have to go back to basics of coalition dharma and stitch up tactical alliances across the country. With elections due in Maharashtra, Haryana and Delhi in the next few months, the party needs to take the initiative in bringing like-minded parties together. Be it the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradsh or NCP in Maharashtra or Haryana Janhit Congress in Haryana, it has to stitch alliances, said the political observers Firstpost spoke to. If the Congress party can shed the “big brother” attitude, it can throw a sturdy challenge to the BJP, they added.