Amidst internal turmoil and leadership issues, the Congress remains beset with the challenge of the electoral slide as seen in Gujarat where the party gave a tough fight to the BJP in the 2017 Assembly elections. The infighting in the Gujarat Congress has eroded its electoral base with several MLAs crossing over to the BJP since 2017.
The party even lost the hard-fought Rajya Sabha seat of Ahmed Patel, who passed away last year, to the BJP. Many leaders questioned the ticket distribution and how various factions ensured that their aides bagged the seats over deserving candidates.
Calling it a worrying trend, a senior leader said at the national level, the high command is struggling to firefight rebellion by some seniors seeking organizational elections and differences over leadership issues.
All eyes will now be on the elections in Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry. The setback in Gujarat comes a day after the party’s government fell in Puducherry.