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In the 2019 Maharashtra Election Results, lessons for the Congress

Present in absentia - that would pretty much sum up the Congress campaign in Maharashtra. While its alliance partner, NCP chief Sharad Pawar addressed 60 public meetings in 21 days across the state, Congress' working President did not visit the state for campaigning. Former Congress President and Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi addressed a total of seven rallies across poll-bound Maharashtra and Haryana.

his first rally was in Ausa in Latur. He campaigned for two Congress candidates from Mumbai, Naseem Khan from Chandivali and Varsha Gaikwad from Dharavi.

The net result for the party holds plenty of lessons for introspection. The party that has given the state the maximum Chief Ministers, is today, relegated to the fourth spot in the final tally of the Maharashtra Assembly Election Results 2019. Once the big brother in the Congress-NCP alliance, Congress will not even be able to stake claim to the post of Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra assembly. Incidentally, the party's last leader of opposition, Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, abandoned the grand old party, and switched to the BJP, contesting and winning from Shirdi.

From the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, where the party won just two seats, it now has only one Lok Sabha member of Parliament, Suresh Dhanorkar, from Chandrapur. Interestingly, Dhanorkar had to put up a fight to secure a ticket with the party leadership being reluctant to field him.

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Bogged down by in-fighting, in many constituencies across the state, Congress candidates were their best supporters and national leaders who campaigned came in much later with very little time left for campaigning to draw to a close. Among those who turned up to canvas for Congress candidates were Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot, Rajasthan deputy CM Sachin Pilot.

In Mumbai, Congress leaders wasted no opportunity to indulge in some very public mud-slinging and instead of projecting a united front, hurt the party's already dented image. At the end of the 2019 elections, Congress leaders like Ashok Chavan, Prithviraj Chavan, Balasaheb Thorat, Varsha Gaikwad, Amin Patel have winners' certificates to show but a very tough task ahead of rebuilding the party that has crumbled to its lowest in a state that was once its stronghold.

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