The Congress has often clarified that its leader Rahul Gandhi’s ongoing Kanyakumari-to-Kashmir Bharat Jodo Yatra isn’t about elections. But there’s no denying that the party was hoping the massive mass-contact foot march would start the process of its revival with good results in elections.
What happens in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) polls will be known on December 7, and the Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh state election results will be announced a day later. But India Today-Axis My India exit polls suggest the Bharat Jodo Yatra may not have delivered immediate goods.
In the MCD polls, there was an opportunity for the Congress. The BJP has ruled the MCD for 15 years. The BJP-led central government, through bureaucratic interventions, has a significant role in how the MCD is run. The AAP has also been the party in power in Delhi’s assembly since 2014. So, both the BJP and the AAP had anti-incumbency of some sort going against them.
What exit polls say about Rahul Gandhi
As per the exit polls, the Congress may have failed to benefit from the situation. The AAP would likely win 149 to 171 wards out of Delhi’s 250, while the BJP could win 69 to 91 wards. The Congress will likely win three to seven wards, worse than other political parties that may win five to nine wards.
In Gujarat, too, there was an opportunity for the Congress. The BJP has ruled the state for 27 years. Changing his initial plan, Rahul Gandhi took his Bharat Jodo Yatra to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state and held rallies. But according to the exit polls, the grand old party’s drought in Gujarat may extend further.
Here is what the numbers suggest: The BJP is set for a landslide victory with 129 to 151 seats, beating all the debates around the speculated anti-incumbency.