HEARTLAND HEARTACHE

The Congress finds itself in the unenviable situation of reworking its entire strategy for the Lok Sabha polls

- SONI MISHRA

In the past few months, especially after the Congress registered a victory in the assembly elections in Karnataka in May, there was a spring in the step of Congress leaders and workers. The party approached the assembly elections in November with confidence and what it felt was a winning formula it derived from Karnataka.

A win in Telangana, however, has been overshadowed by the party's wipeout in the three Hindi heartland states-Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. With just months to go for the Lok Sabha elections, the defeat in the three states comes as a huge dampener for the principal opposition party, raising serious questions about its electoral strategy to counter the BJP.

The Congress had hoped to win at least two of the heartland states. It was confident of holding on to Chhattisgarh, hopeful of wresting Madhya Pradesh and was trying to beat the revolving door politics of Rajasthan to stay in power. Having a foothold in the region would have provided the party with a much-needed morale booster in the Lok Sabha polls. However, the party finds its national footprint greatly diminished. In the Hindi belt, it is in power only in the hill state of Himachal Pradesh. Its other two states, Karnataka and Telangana, are down south. It is a junior ally in the ruling alliances in Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand and Bihar.