Rahul Gandhi in the North, Priyanka in the South… Is this the Next Strategy of Congress?

Congress Strategy: In the Lok Sabha elections, Rahul Gandhi contested from two Lok Sabha seats, Wayanad and Rae Bareli, and he won both these seats with huge votes. After this, there was a discussion that Rahul will decide to become an MP from Rae Bareli to establish himself in the Hindi belt. Meanwhile, on June 17, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge also made an official announcement of this. It was said that Rahul will leave the Wayanad seat and Priyanka will contest her first election from Wayanad seat of Kerala. 

While talking to journalists after this announcement, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said that even though Rahul is not on this seat, Congress will not let his absence be felt. Her statement gives a glimpse of Sonia Gandhi of 1999. Actually, Sonia Gandhi had entered electoral politics from the seats of South India. During that time, while filing nomination from Bellary seat of Karnataka, she had also given a similar statement. Sonia had said at that time, ‘This time I am contesting from Bellary, South India has always been dear to my mother-in-law.’  

Now it seems that Priyanka is also in the same role. Priyanka is being fielded as a candidate from the Wayanad seat in the south. If she wins, then for the first time there will be a brother and sister in the Lok Sabha from the north and south within a distance of 2096 km. This will be a good opportunity for the Congress to expand its party from north to south. 

In such a situation, the question arises as to what plan can the brother-sister duo take forward for the Congress party.

Priyanka’s welcome also begins in Wayanad

Priyanka Gandhi’s welcome in the politics of the south has also begun. In fact, after the news of her contesting from Wayanad, the leaders of IUML, Congress’s ally in Kerala, have said that Priyanka contesting from Wayanad will strengthen the alliance.

On the other hand, Samajwadi Party leaders praised Rahul Gandhi’s decision to remain an MP from Rae Bareli seat and said that Congress has taken the right decision in UP. Actually, Wayanad is called the stronghold of Congress. This is a safe seat for Congress, so the party has decided to field Priyanka from here. At the same time, the party’s hopes have now increased in the upcoming elections from UP.

Congress’ performance improved in this election

In the Lok Sabha elections, the Congress-led All India Alliance has performed quite well in some states of the north as compared to the first two elections. Not only this, Congress has also got more seats than the last election. In such a situation, Congress is now trying to increase its lead in the southern states. 

It is believed that if Priyanka Gandhi wins in Wayanad, then Rahul can work on expanding the party in the North and Priyanka can work on expanding the party in the South. 

It is easier for Congress to make inroads in the South than BJP 

Before this election, the Bharatiya Janata Party had completely focused on the southern states. PM Modi also put a lot of emphasis in states like Tamil Nadu, but despite all the rallies and strategies, the party’s performance was not very good in the rest of the states except Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. On the other hand, the clean sweep performance of the Congress-led UDF in these states proved that if the Congress comes up with a better strategy in these states, then the party can benefit in the next assembly and Lok Sabha elections. 

How was the performance of BJP in the southern states 

There are a total of 129 Lok Sabha seats in South India including Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. This time BJP has got only 29 seats out of these. Annamalai’s magic did not work in Tamil Nadu and the doors did not open for BJP. But, leaving Tamil Nadu aside, BJP was successful in opening its account in four states. The most important of these states is Kerala. Making the ‘lotus’ bloom in the stronghold of the Left is being seen as a big success for BJP. Along with this, the vote share of the party has also increased.

Tamil Nadu:
The Congress-led INDIA Alliance has performed well in this Lok Sabha election. India Alliance has won 39 seats in Tamil Nadu. Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has won 22 seats. Congress has won 9 seats.

Karnataka:
BJP entered the electoral fray in alliance with JDS in Karnataka. Elections were held in two phases on 28 seats here. Congress won a total of 9 seats. While BJP managed to win 17 seats. JDS got 2 seats. BJP got 25 seats in Karnataka in 2019. While Congress, JDS and Independents won only one seat each. In such a situation, it would not be wrong to say that even though BJP has got more seats here, Congress’s performance is also better than the last election. 

Kerala:
In this election, the Bharatiya Janata Party entered Kerala. Here singer and actor Suresh Gopi succeeded in making BJP’s lotus bloom from Thrissur Lok Sabha seat. In comparison to the last Lok Sabha election, BJP’s vote share in Kerala increased from 3% to 16%. But the party’s seat specific strategy worked only in Thrissur.

What is the game plan of Congress?

Journalist Amit Kumar Bajpai, who has been observing the Congress party for years, says that the Congress’ game plan behind making Priyanka Gandhi a candidate from Wayanad can be based on many strategic objectives. One of these is to strengthen the hold of Congress in Kerala. Actually, Wayanad is located in Kerala, where Congress has a good influence. In such a situation, if Priyanka wins there, she can strengthen the Congress in Kerala and increase public support for the party.

Apart from this, the party’s game plan also includes increasing support in South India. At present, BJP is not in a strong position in South India. Their performance in this Lok Sabha election has also not been very good, in such a situation, Priyanka Gandhi’s candidature can give Congress a new face in South India, which can improve the party’s image and increase support.

What could be the game plan of Congress in North India?

Journalist Rajesh Dubey from Raipur says that in this Lok Sabha election, Congress has come to know that if their party enters the field with a better plan and unity, then their performance can improve. 

‘I think Rahul can work on strengthening the Congress in the northern states by keeping himself as an MP from Rae Bareli. For this, first the party will have to strengthen its organizational structure. At present, the Congress needs to empower the local leaders and give them important roles. If the party does this, it will get strength at the local level.’

Apart from this, the party can focus on social issues. In this Lok Sabha election, Congress raised many important social issues like education, health, unemployment, and farmers’ problems and they also benefited from them. 

Congress can give more participation to youth and women in the party and can plan to give prominence to their voice. Congress will have to strongly present its ideals of secularism and social justice and take along all sections of the society. 

Where has Priyanka Gandhi contested elections so far?

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has not yet directly contested as a candidate in any Lok Sabha or Assembly elections, but she is among the prominent leaders of the Congress party. She played an active role in the party’s campaign and organizational work during the elections. Following are the major events during her tenure:

2019 Lok Sabha Elections: Priyanka Gandhi was appointed Congress General Secretary ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections . She was made in-charge of eastern Uttar Pradesh, where she campaigned extensively for the Congress. 

Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections 2022: Priyanka Gandhi played an important role on behalf of the Congress in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections held in the year 2022. She also ran an extensive campaign in UP and tried to connect women and youth to the party with slogans like “Larki hun, lad sakti hun”.