Congress shrinks, anti-BJP space gets more congested

NEW DELHI: The post-2019 existential crisis staring Congress in the face has taken on an ominous imminence as its rout in five state elections, the rise of AAP as a wannabe national player, and the continuing surge of arch nemesis BJP have put a serious question mark on its viability as a political force.
In Uttar Pradesh, which was once synonymous with Congress and gave it some of its most towering leaders, the party has been all but wiped out – from an abysmal seven seats and 6.3% vote share in the 2017 state elections, it is down to a humiliating two and 2.4% respectively.
Congress’s inability to put up a fight in BJP-ruled Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur, reinforces the perception that the party lacks the ideas and the wherewithal to trump the Narendra Modi-powered rival. But even more threatening is the AAP surge that has singed Congress in Punjab. The Arvind Kejriwal platform has styled itself as replacement of Congress, with an eye on states with Congress-BJP bipolarity. There is now a serious concern that AAP will go full throttle in BJP-ruled Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat which go to polls in late 2022. It is expected to position itself as the alternative anti-establishment force, with the argument that Congress lacks the resilience to defeat the BJP.