That the Congress has suffered a drubbing in Delhi and Rajasthan will lead to much soul-searching within the party. It must also examine why its electoral pitch of pro-poor policies didn’t attract many takers. The party now has a few months left if it is to get its act together. While it is still not clear whether the “Modi factor” is working for the BJP, for the Congress, Ms Sonia Gandhi and Mr. Rahul Gandhi will have to effect drastic midcourse correction to their campaign style and substance to convince voters.
D.B.N. Murthy,Bangalore
The impressive debut of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)in the Delhi Assembly elections is not only its victory but that of the common man as well who is fed up with misrule at the Centre. That it has managed to register its presence is bound to send termors within the Congress.
Ajay S. Kumar,Thiruvananthapuram
The thumbs up for the AAP is a clear indication that India offers political space for an alternative political grouping even if there are giant national parties.
The possible alternative grouping will now have the capacity to address the angst of the average citizen who is weighed under the burden of price rise, governmental apathy and a sense of general despair. Let us hope that the AAP will now inspire political alternatives in every State.
C. John Rose,Kanyakumari
While it is evident that the Congress is losing ground, the BJP may not be gaining equally even if one considers the Modi factor. The Delhi results indicate that people are yet undecided, which shows how difficult it still is to predict voter behaviour in our democracy.
Varanasi Gopalakrishnan,Chennai
The lacklustre performance of UPA-II is crystal clear. What is a shocker for the Congress is that its attempt to use development as a plank didn’t save it this time. The Modi factor is going to be hard to ignore in the days to come. These results are only a sample of what is to come in 2014.
K.M. Lakshmana Rao,Visakhapatnam
The results show that the “hand” is not clean.
The verdict in Delhi has revealed that youngsters cannot be ignored as they have not hesitated to speak out against corruption, price rise and nepotism.
E. Rajakumar Arulanandham,Palayamkottai
. The people are looking for an alternative to both national parties. In many States, there are no alternatives to existing parties. As in Delhi, we need a movement in the other States. Instead of hiding behind the “anti-incumbency” screen, the Congress and others who have lost should now introspect and learn to build bridges to people, who are the backbone of democracy.
S.A. Srinivasa Sarma,Hyderabad
The Congress entered this race on the back foot as a limping economy cast its long shadow on the performance of UPA-II. The elections reflect this. In two-cornered contests, the sole beneficiary was the BJP, while the AAP has sent out a clear message about capturing the imagination of young India. One cannot rule out the emergence of a Third Front.
R. Narayanan,Ghaziabad
While the BJP has reasons to be pleased, the real credit goes to Anna Hazare and Arvind Kejriwal whose sustained campaigns exposed the scam-ridden Congress which clearly misjudged the mood of the people. Though the Congress must be credited for its efforts in bringing the RTI, RTE and MGNREGA, it never bothered to tackle mega-level graft. The parties which have won now should exercise caution as the verdicts are largely against corruption.
R. Sridharan,Chennai
