Ever since the Congress’s poor showing in the Haryana Assembly elections, scorn has been pouring fast and thick from its allies. Parties such as the Shiv Sena, Trinamool Congress, AAP, and RJD expressed their worry concerning the Congress’s inability to meet the exit poll predictions and also accused it of making light of the smaller regional partners.
The most vocal has been the faction of Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, which carried an editorial in Saamana criticizing Congress for being unable to accommodate allies and failing to manage local leaders. It even lamented that Congress had a knack for “turning a winning innings into a defeat.”
Countering these, Nana Patole, Congress’s Maharashtra chief, denied these claims, underlining a different political landscape in Maharashtra. “There are different political backgrounds. We will do better,” he said.
Sanjay Raut, a key Sena leader, said Congress failed due to the lack of “INDIA gathbandhan” in Haryana. He said alliances with parties like Samajwadi Party or AAP could have changed the results.
Discussions between Congress and AAP did not lead to an alliance, and the AAP fared abysmally in its own backyard, managing less than 1.8% of the total votes polled. AAP leader Raghav Chadha’s tweet hinted at the lost opportunity.
The editorial also attacked former Chief Minister Bhupinder Hooda: “his unwillingness to cooperate with other leaders, especially Kumari Selja, was disastrous.” There were indications, for instance, that the loyalists of Hooda might have vetoed a prospective pact with AAP.
Bottom line: The Haryana election result has triggered loud thinking among Congress allies about greater coalition management and respect for regional parties.
