Elections were held in four states and one union territory. When the results came, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was most happy. BJP was successful in saving its government in Assam. Three of its MLAs won in Kerala, the government remained intact in Puducherry and it created history in West Bengal. Similarly, Congress is also happy that it was successful in returning to power in Kerala. Mamata Banerjee’s defeat is also being said to be a hidden reason for Congress’s happiness. BJP has done the work which Congress was not able to do for a long time. In the last few years, more or less something similar has happened in Odisha and Delhi also. It is believed that Congress is looking at this in such a way that in the coming time, regional parties will be limited and only it will benefit from it.
States like Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh and Karnataka are the ones where BJP and Congress compete and Congress has been winning in many states. On the contrary, states like West Bengal, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have become such where when regional parties became stronger, Congress was almost wiped out. At present, Congress is in a very weak position in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. At the same time, in Jharkhand she has remained as a junior partner.
Congress’s advantage in the defeat of Kejriwal, Mamata Banerjee and Naveen Patnaik?
There was Congress government in Delhi for a long time but the rise of Arvind Kejriwal and Aam Aadmi Party almost destroyed Congress in Delhi. In the last three assembly elections, Congress has not been able to win even a single assembly seat in Delhi. The main reason for this was that there was a fight between AAP and BJP. In such a situation, Congress was most happy with the defeat of Arvind Kejriwal. In the 2025 elections, it was also seen in many seats where AAP lost due to the votes received by Congress.
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Similarly, Congress was out of power in Odisha for a long time. Congress, which has been out of power in Odisha for 25 years, has tried many times but it did not succeed in front of Naveen Patnaik. With the defeat of Naveen Patnaik in 2024, the work of another Chhatrap is almost finished. Seeing the increasing age of Naveen Patnaik and the disintegrating Biju Janata Dal (BJD), Congress has started working towards strengthening itself in Odisha. Congress hopes that it will have a direct fight with BJP in the next elections and in case of no triangular elections, it may benefit.
The condition of West Bengal has also been more or less similar. Since the Siddharth Shankar Ray government in 1977, the Congress Party has never been able to capture power in West Bengal. After the rise of Mamata Banerjee, worse days have come for Congress. Despite all efforts and alliances, the Congress party could not defeat Mamata Banerjee. However, now after BJP’s victory, Congress is hopeful that TMC will weaken and it will be able to fill this void.
Will just clearing the way suffice?
There is definitely a chance for Congress in the states where regional parties have lost, but it will have to work very hard to challenge BJP in those states. Despite AAP’s defeat in Delhi, it is the main opposition and Congress still does not appear to be in a strong position. In Uttar Pradesh, Congress is still forced to follow SP. Congress has definitely got the benefit of BRS’s defeat in Telangana but here it itself has won outright. Similarly, in Kerala too, Congress itself has won by defeating the Left and returned to power.
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Now Congress has a chance in Punjab to strengthen itself and defeat AAP. The reason for this is that the Congress organization has been very strong in Punjab and its prospects are also better in this state. Similarly, in states like Bengal, Bihar, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, Congress has plenty of time to strengthen itself at the organizational level and at least try to come to the position of the main opposition party.
If Congress is able to strengthen itself in these states, then it will be able to directly challenge BJP in the Lok Sabha elections of 2029 or 2034 and its position in the Lok Sabha may become such that other regional parties will be forced to support it.
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