Congress 'EQ' Vs BJP ‘IQ'

Team Modi Is Riding On Its Assembly Poll Momentum, But The Congress's Clever Candidate Mix May Prevent A Washout

- RAHUL NORONHA

Five years back, an upbeat Congress in Chhattisgarh went into the 2019 general election riding high on the success of the 2018 assembly polls in which it had won 68 of 90 seats and unseated the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state after one and a half decades. Good fortunes seemed to await even in the Lok Sabha election. However, in stark contrast to the assembly election outcome, it was the BJP that emerged victorious, winning nine of the 11 Lok Sabha seats in Chhattisgarh. Now, with the state voting in three phases for the 2024 general election, the question on most people's minds is whether the Congress can pull a BJP on the BJP, and reverse the verdict of the 2023 assembly polls, which saw 54 of 90 seats painted saffron. It won't be an easy feat, concede political observers, as the BJP retains the one weapon in its arsenal that had helped it steal a march over the Congress in 2019-the overwhelming public support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Yet, despite that draw, the Congress is not out of the race in Chhattisgarh, feel some.