IS FLEXI-CONG POLICY HURTING PARTY'S EGO?

Congress, in its eagerness to keep BJP out of power, appears to have yielded too many seats to its allies in the ongoing Lok Sabha election.

- GAURAV VIVEK BHATNAGAR

The grand old party is contesting only 64 seats in the five biggest states that send a total of 249 candidates to the lower house of Parliament and has gleefully accepted the role of the younger brother to its allies in these states.

Under its youthful leader Rahul Gandhi Congress has worked hard over the past year and a half ever since it undertook the Bharat Jodo Yatra in 2022- to revive and enthuse its cadre across the country, and to build a narrative against the policies and strategies of the BJP government at the Centre.

As a party that ruled the country for over 50 years, Congress took upon itself the task of bringing the opposition parties together. This led to the formation of the INDIA bloc in July 2023 and thereafter, Congress to keep the flock together has done all it could, including leaving far fewer seats for itself to contest than it would have liked.

In the 2009 LS poll, Congress had polled 28.55 per cent of all votes and won 206 seats.