Sadly for the celebration, the state of affairs is not any totally different in Lok Sabha elections.The Congress may win only one out of 80 Lok Sabha seats within the state in 2019. Such was the drubbing that even Rahul Gandhi couldn’t save his bastion of Amethi and misplaced to Smriti Irani. The lone seat that got here in celebration’s kitty was Rae Bareli, which we represented by Sonia Gandhi. Nevertheless, this time round, Congress will want a brand new face there additionally as Sonia has opted out of electoral politics and is now a member of the Rajya Sabha.
The upcoming Lok Sabha elections might be a litmus check for the grand outdated celebration because it prepares to realize among the misplaced floor within the state. To start with, Congress has managed to sew an vital alliance with Samajwadi Social gathering and might be contesting 17 seats within the state.
The celebration has introduced solely 9 of the 17 candidates to date. There’s nonetheless suspense over the attainable candidature of Rahul and Priyanka from Amethi and Rae Bareli respectively. That is whilst BJP has raced forward asserting most of its candidates in the important thing state.
A have a look at the Congress candidates introduced to date provides a peep into the celebration’s technique, or maybe lack thereof, in among the key constituencies.
Varanasi: Symbolism over substance?
In what looks like a gesture of symbolism moderately than a critical problem, the Congress has as soon as once more fielded Ajay Rai from Varanasi, the constituency represented by Prime Minister Modi.
Rai’s re-nomination displays the reluctance of Congress to attempt one thing totally different in a seat that has nice symbolic worth.
Ajai Rai has misplaced twice to Prime Minister Modi in Varanasi. One would have anticipated the Congress to craft a compelling narrative or a brand new technique to counter Modi’s affect on this essential seat.
The BJP’s vote share in Varanasi has seen a major rise within the final two elections, leaving little hope for the Congress. Because the state chief, Ajai Rai is a robust alternative, however he probably lacks native assist.
A recap
The Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency has remained firmly within the palms of the BJP since 1991, with just one exception in 2004 when the Congress managed to safe a victory.
Regardless of makes an attempt by the Congress, the BJP has persistently held onto the seat in subsequent elections, together with the mid-term polls.
Rajesh Kumar Mishra of the Congress briefly broke the BJP’s dominance by successful the seat in 2004, just for the BJP to reclaim it in 2009.
In electoral contests the earlier yr, five-time MLA recognized for his strongman picture, Rai, represented the Congress towards the PM in each the 2014 and 2019 polls. Regardless of Rai’s formidable presence, he was unable to beat Modi’s overwhelming recognition, receiving 75,614 and 152,548 votes respectively.
Apparently, the present state Congress chief had additionally contested from Varanasi on a Samajwadi Social gathering ticket in 2009, garnering substantial assist with 1,23,874 votes.
Varanasi previous winners
The uphill battle
Whereas it is understood that defeating Modi in Varanasi is a frightening job, an progressive Congress method on this key constituency may maybe have despatched out sturdy alerts concerning the celebration’s broader electoral technique in Uttar Pradesh.
With 80 parliamentary seats at stake, the state holds immense significance in figuring out the nationwide political panorama.
