The Congress after making a comeback in the Bihar Assembly elections may find the coming year a good opportunity to bounce back. The Congress, if one takes the existing strength, has much to show in 2016 than the BJP and that may set the course for the renewal of the 2019 battle between the two national parties.
The Congress is ruling Assam for about one and a half decades and has strong stakes in Punjab where the ruling SAD-BJP combine is facing an uphill task. Furthermore, the Congress has traditionally been strong in a few pockets in West Bengal and could become a force to reckon with if the chief minister Mamata Banerjee were to miss the magic figure in next elections. In Tamil Nadu too, the Congress may fancy some chances.
Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi has been one of those rare Congressmen who have been so regularly elected. In fact, Mr Gogoi shares the honour of winning three elections in a row only with former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit. However, Congress in Assam has witnessed a number desertion and the BJP is trying its best to get a foothold in Assam for an eventual foray into the North-East.
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi appears to have made peace with Captain Amarinder Singh in Punjab and that may augur well for the faction-ridden party in the state. In West Bengal, the Congress had sought to reach out to the Left for forging informal alliance, sources said, but the overture has been spurned. Such a scenario may benefit the ruling Trinamul as the party may benefit from the multi-pronged battle in the state.
But there is no denying the fact that the Congress has to bank heavily on local satraps, which is clearly evident in Assam and Punjab, and also true to a large extent in West Bengal.
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