Congress Faces Political Storm as Rahul Gandhi Visits Cyclone-Hit Areas

New Delhi: It almost seemed ironical. As Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi was taking stock of the areas hit by Cyclone Hudhud in Andhra Pradesh's Visakhapatnam on Sunday, a political storm hit the party.

The BJP moved a step closer towards their political goal of a 'Congress-mukt bharat' by ending the party's rule in Maharashtra and Haryana.

In the past couple of years, the Congress has lost crucial states like Rajasthan, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh and the newly-created Telangana. The latest round of results forced Congress' top leadership to reach out to their supporters.  

Mr Gandhi, in a statement, said, "I congratulate the BJP on their success. I thank our supporters for having stood by us and party workers for their commitment to the party. The Congress Party will work hard on the ground to once again earn the confidence of the people."

Congress President Sonia Gandhi too promised to play a vigilant role, after the party was voted out of power. But the numbers don't add up for the party to be even an effective Opposition.  

In Maharashtra, the party struggled for the third place, getting just one seat more than its former ally Nationalist Congress Party or NCP. 

In Haryana, the Congress witnessed a repeat of the rout the party had earlier faced in states like Rajasthan, Delhi and Andhra Pradesh, that has led to a constant questioning of Mr Gandhi's leadership. 

But the party seemed prepared with its answers. Spokespersons claimed that these elections had more to do with anti-incumbency than with leadership.  

"Different leaders have different styles of leadership and every leader finds his big moment; I am sure we will come back. When the BJP had two MPs, we didn't say 'BJP-mukt' India. Similarly, we will not be wiped out," said Rajeev Gowda, a former professor of IIM Bangalore who is now a spokesperson for the Congress.

Shobha Ojha, another spokesperson, pointed out, "In 1998, we were ruling only in three states, but by 2003-04, we had governments in 11 states." 

The Congress' worst performance in the Lok Sabha elections, in May this year, forced the top leadership to talk about revamping the grand old party. Five months later, changes are yet to happen and time seems to be running out.

Story First Published: October 19, 2014 23:44 IST