In ‘Striking Distance’ of BJP in Vote Share… Hope, Firm Resolve for LS Polls: Congress

New Delhi: Suffering defeats in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, the Congress on Sunday recalled that 20 years ago it had lost the three states while winning only Delhi but bounced back in the 2004 Lok Sabha polls, and said it prepares for the forthcoming general election with hope and a firm sense of resolve.

The BJP tightened its stranglehold in the Hindi heartland with Assembly victories in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh while the Congress ousted the BRS from Telangana on Sunday, the three-one poll score setting the stage -- and the mood -- for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

But Congress said it was in 'striking distance' of BJP in terms of vote share.

The party said its performance in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh was disappointing but it was within "striking distance" of the BJP going by the vote share.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the good vote share of the party in these states is a reason for hope and revival.

"It is true that the performance of the Indian National Congress in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan was disappointing and far below our own expectations.  "But the vote shares tell a story of a Congress that is not very behind the BJP—in fact, it is within striking distance. This is the reason for hope and revival," Ramesh said in a post on X.

Giving details, he said in Chhattisgarh while the BJP's vote share was 46.3%, that of the Congress was 42.2%.

In Madhya Pradesh, he said the BJP had a vote share of 48.6% while the Congress had 40.4%.

In Rajasthan, Ramesh said while the BJP had 41.7% vote share, the Congress had 39.5%.

He also posted the tagline of opposition bloc INDIA, which plans to take on the BJP unitedly in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections on X - "Judega Bharat, Jeetega INDIA".

After the party's victory in Telangana, Ramesh in another post on X said, "The performance of the Indian National Congress in Telangana is a silver lining not just for the party, but also for the people of the state." "Telangana became the 29th state of the Indian Union entirely because of the Indian National Congress, but the objectives that led to its creation have got lost these last (and lost) nine years. A Congress government, that will very soon be in place, will give the state a new direction," he asserted.

People 'apprehensive, worried' by 'one-sided' results, says BSP chief

In Lucknow, a day after the BJP won three of the four Assembly elections, BSP chief Mayawati said the "one-sided results" in the four states have made people "apprehensive, astonished and worried" as she convened a meeting of her party members to discuss the 2024 Lok Sabha polls strategy.

The meeting will be held in Lucknow on December 10.

In a series of posts on X, Mayawati also said that during the election campaign in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana there was a feeling that these states would see a close fight. But the results were completely different, she said.

BJP swept the Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, rendering a major loss to the Congress which managed to wrest power in Telangana in the results announced on Sunday.

"It is natural for all the people to be doubtful, surprised and worried when the results of the Assembly elections in the four states were one-sided. Considering the entire atmosphere of the elections, such a strange result is a matter of concern for the people and very difficult to accept," Mayawati said on X.

"The atmosphere during the entire election was that of a neck-and-neck fight. But the election result being completely different and one-sided is such a mysterious matter that it requires serious thinking and needs to be solved. A terrible 'mistake' in sensing people's mood is a new topic of discussion."

Asking her party members not to be disheartened by the results, she said, "All people of BSP fought this election with full strength... They should not be disappointed by such a result and keep trying to move forward by taking inspiration from the life and struggles of Babasaheb Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar."

To discuss the ground report of this election and to make preparations for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, an all-India meeting of the party will be convened in Lucknow on December 10, Mayawati said.

"The Ambedkarite movement will never lose the courage to move forward," the BSP president added.