In the wake of the Congress party’s disappointing results in the Haryana Assembly elections, allies have expressed their dissatisfaction, criticizing the party for defying exit poll forecasts and suffering significant losses. Uddhav Thackeray’s faction of the Shiv Sena, which is expected to team up with Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) for the upcoming Maharashtra elections, has been particularly harsh in its assessment. An editorial published in the party’s mouthpiece, *Saamana*, chastised the Congress for its inability to rein in local leaders’ defiance and for transforming a potentially successful campaign into a defeat.
The editorial also pointed fingers at the Congress for its failure to collaborate effectively, particularly highlighting the attitude of Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress. Earlier this year, the Trinamool had limited its offer to share just a few of the state’s 42 Lok Sabha seats, blaming the Congress for its previous poor performance. Trinamool MP Saket Gokhale criticized Congress’s arrogance regarding seat-sharing, stating that such a mindset contributes to electoral defeats. He emphasized that the Congress often expects regional parties to adjust to their needs, particularly in states where they are struggling, rather than accommodating those parties in potentially winnable regions.
The criticism from the Shiv Sena was particularly pointed, singling out Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda for his reluctance to cooperate with other party leaders, such as fellow chief ministerial aspirant Kumari Selja. Sanjay Raut, the Sena’s second-in-command and a close associate of Thackeray, noted that there was no effective coalition in Haryana and pointed out that the Congress’s overconfidence led to missed opportunities for collaboration with parties like the Samajwadi Party or AAP, which could have altered the election outcome.
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Discussions between Congress, led by Rahul Gandhi, and AAP ultimately fell through, as sources indicated that Hooda and his supporters were unyielding in negotiations. AAP ended up with no representation in its leader Arvind Kejriwal’s home state. The ‘Saamana’ editorial lamented that the Congress has a history of internal strife, which had detrimental effects in prior elections in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. The editorial suggested that this internal discord had aided the BJP’s victories in those states.
Concerns about Hooda’s leadership have been prevalent, with many questioning whether he played a pivotal role in the party’s failure in Haryana. Reports have indicated that his preference for candidates who are loyal to him marginalized other potential leaders, including Selja. The rivalry between Hooda and Selja, an influential Dalit leader, has been identified as a major factor contributing to Congress’s unexpected downturn in Haryana.
Selja had previously expressed her dissatisfaction with the candidate selection process, feeling that it predominantly favored Hooda’s loyalists. While some criticized her for a perceived lack of engagement during the campaign, she later reaffirmed her commitment to the party.
Despite the disappointing results, Sena MP Raut suggested that the election outcome might not severely impact relationships in Maharashtra. However, he cautioned that lessons must be learned from the results in Haryana, emphasizing that no ally should consider themselves superior to others. Looking ahead to the Maharashtra elections, the *Saamana* editorial urged the Congress to focus on grassroots efforts, highlighting the strong organizational strategies employed by the BJP. It concluded by expressing optimism about the alliance’s prospects in Maharashtra, indicating that the public sentiment in the state is against prominent BJP leaders, and asserted that the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance would prevail in the upcoming elections.
