Congress’s Haryana in-charge quits after the party performed pathetically in the assembly polls: A Reader’s Digest edition of the fallout
In the aftermath of the shocker and thumping defeat in the Haryana Assembly polls, Congress’s Haryana unit incharge Madhusudan Mistry Babaria has put in his resignation. This came when election results were being declared; the Bharatiya Janata Party managed to not only defeat the Congress but also went ahead to achieve a win that was expectedly foretold in exit polls. Babaria has resigned by taking moral responsibility for the party’s performance in the state.
This article analyses why Congress lost, Babaria resigned, and what exactly the party is doing to assess and correct the electoral event.
Why Did Babaria Quit? Moral Duties and Health Reasons
Congress party senior leader and Babaria Madhusudan Mistry announced that he has offered to resign from his position as in-charge of the Congress’s Haryana unit on Monday. Addressing media Babaria said he had submitted his resignation to the high command of the party shortly after the results of the Haryana assembly polls were announced.
“I told the high command that they could replace me,” said Babaria, explaining his decision was not solely based on election results but also on his health issues. He said he had already briefed the party leadership about his desire to step down if they deemed it proper to replace him.
The party’s high command till date has chosen to remain mum over Babaria’s letter of resignation. His resignation fits into a broad effort at assuming moral responsibility for the defeat of the party, an act of assumed responsibility that has been fairly common in acts of ritualized performance by political leadership after electoral setbacks of sufficient magnitude.
Review Meet by Congress: Looking at the Reasons Behind the Defeat
Within weeks of the crushing defeat, the leadership of the Congress party sat and worked out reasons behind the uncharacteristic loss in Haryana. The party had been expecting a great comeback in the state. Instead, BJP came out trumps with 48 seats in the 90-member Haryana Assembly, while Congress only managed to garner 37 seats in that assembly.
A review meeting was held to deliberate on a list of concerns, more so on how the party strategized and campaigned for election. Party leaders deliberated on shortcomings regarding choices of candidates, quality of campaign messages, as well as voter contact-all elements whose misfires could lead to defeat in the electoral polls.
In a bid to comprehend what went wrong, the Congress has decided to form a fact-finding team who will speak with all the party candidates who contested Haryana polls to come to some insight into what may have gone wrong. The team will also address complaints filed by candidates or party workers about any electoral malpractice, and it will make sure that all aspects of the election are put up for scrutiny.
Accusation of EVM Manipulation: Congress Draws Toward Investigation
In the aftermath of the election, the Congress party cried foul over the working of the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) while counting was underway. Candidates in the party said there were malfunctions with the EVMs at some polling stations, and this is what prompted the party to question what it termed a full investigation over the matter.
During the review meeting, Congress leaders claimed to have a suspicion about EVM tampering. They claimed that a portion of EVMs were running on 99% battery capacity. Whereas, most of the average EVMs were found to be working on 60-70% battery capacity. For such discrepancies, the party then argued that further investigation was needed as it could have impacted the outcome of last year’s election.
A delegation of top Congress leaders met the officials of the Election Commission to express their concern over the alleged discrepancies found in the EVMs. They requested these EVMs be sealed and secured pending the completion of the inquiry.
It remains to be on record from the Election Commission what it will say formally regarding the Congress’ concern over the credibility of the voting process, but the post-election narrative of Haryana has just got one notch more complicated.
Exit polls go wrong: Congress Disappointment
There was one aspect of the Congress defeat in Haryana which went against the expectations of some exit polls. The exit polls, available in plenty before the elections, were indicating a good show for the Congress in Haryana and even suggesting a possibility of a ‘Congress majority’.
However, when the results came out, it was BJP who emerged victorious bagging 48 seats when compared to Congress’37. This went against Congress’ hope after a series of electoral setbacks at the national and state level in the polls in Haryana.
The exit polls having produced wrong projections must have lulled party workers and contestants into a false sense of triumph,” says the Congress leadership. The review meeting was called to deal with these misplaced hopes and understand how its internal assessments had gone wrong on the ground.
How Is Congress Rebuilding?
There was another defeat for Congress at Haryana, which is not quite coming out of a state of languor in many important states in India. Yet, the party leaders are keen to take defeat as an opportunity to regain and strengthen the party’s presence in the state.
One of the steps the party is taking to address the issues that led to the loss is through the fact-finding team. The Congress hopes to learn from its mistakes by listening to its candidates and addressing complaints about the electoral process to improve its chances in future elections.
In underlining accountability within the party, Babaria’s resignation would aptly do it the same time. Though his resignation hasn’t been accepted as yet, it would definitely make a strong message that party leaders are ready to take responsibility for electoral results. In another way, it would give a new leadership in the Haryana unit of Congress as the party may look to chart out a new course in the state.
Conclusion: Defeat with a Lesson for the Congress
The results of the Haryana Assemblage elections proved to be a huge disappointment for the Congress, which was on such hope that it would challenge satisfactorily the BJP’s assertion of dominance in the state. Come the exit polls predicting a better result for the party, and this one exposed the disappointment well in excess of the average. The resignation by Madhusudan Mistry Babaria, the Congress’s Haryana in-charge is proof of moral responsibility party leaders feel post such defeats.
And as the Congress leadership starts analyzing election results, what it will learn is how far it fell in this election cycle. The answer to all those controversies raised about EVM discrepancies and improvement in internal party dynamics being desirable will be delivered soon as Congress needs drastic adjustments for rebuilding in Haryana and elsewhere.
The Haryana defeat is a reminder that winning elections is not merely a result of strong leadership and strategy but also a sharp sense of the sentiments of voters along with the electoral machinery.
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