Three changes and waiting for the fourth CM, will Congress' record be broken in Haryana?

Haryana Election 2024: In the last moment of the election battle of Haryana, the Congress high command has put in all its strength. Along with Rahul Gandhi, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi have also entered the campaign field. It is being said that all three leaders have entered the field to get the Old Grand Party out of the trap of 3.

Congress is stuck in the trap of three for 4 years

Congress has been stuck in the trap of three since 2020. Since then, Congress has not had 4 Chief Ministers together. In 2023, Congress formed government in four states for a few days, but by the end of the year the party again reached the figure of 3.

Till the year 2020, Congress had government in Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, but after the rebellion of Jyotiraditya Scindia, the government was lost in Madhya Pradesh. In 2021, Congress had government in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Punjab.

In 2022, Congress government was lost from Punjab. However, at the end of the year, the party won the Himachal elections and the party again reached three digits. After winning the Karnataka elections in 2023, Congress tried to end the 3-digit number.

However, the assembly elections of 4 states held in late 2023 dashed the plans of the Old Grand Party. The party lost in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh except Telangana. It had a government in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.

At present, Congress is in power in Karnataka, Telangana and Himachal.

Karnataka scared off expectations from Haryana

Elections are being held in Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir. Congress hopes to form a government on its own in Haryana. This is the reason why the Congress high command has put in all its strength at the last moment. Congress is trying to come to power in Haryana through farmers, soldiers and anti-incumbency.

If Congress wins in Haryana, then the party will get out of the 3-digit number for a long time. Because, now assembly elections are to be held in Himachal in 2027 and in Karnataka-Telangana in 2028.

However, Congress is also afraid of losing power in Karnataka. ED investigation has started on the allegation of land scam against the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah there. It is being said that if ED takes a big action against Siddaramaiah, then the party may face a dilemma about saving the government.

Internal politics in Karnataka Congress is also being cited as a reason for this.

BJP has government in 13 states

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has government in 13 states. BJP is currently in power alone in UP, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Haryana, Assam, Tripura, Goa, Arunachal, Uttarakhand and Manipur.

Under the alliance, BJP is in power in Bihar, Maharashtra and Andhra. The party is also in the government through alliance in small states like Puducherry, Nagaland and Mizoram.

On the other hand, Congress is a part of the Jharkhand and Tamil Nadu governments through coalition. However, Congress has not got a share in the Tamil Nadu cabinet.

Why is state power important for Congress?

One question is why is state power important for Congress? Actually, in the federal structure, state power is important for parties for two reasons. The first reason is the position of MP in Rajya Sabha.

Except 12 MPs, all other MPs are elected through the Legislative Assembly. If the party forms government in more states, it directly affects the number of Rajya Sabha members. Currently, Congress has 26 Rajya Sabha MPs.

The second reason is constitutional strength. If the central government makes any constitutional change, it has to take permission from the state as well. The amendment can be fully implemented only after the state's permission.

If opposition parties form government in more states, the center hesitates to make constitutional changes.