“WE FOUGHT THIS ELECTION TO SAVE THE CONSTITUTION”
Even before the election results were announced last Wednesday (Jun 5), pollsters and analysts had written off the opposition INDIA coalition as fragile, disorganised, and lacking leadership.
Despite not winning the election, the opposition parties are celebrating.
“No longer can and should parliament be bulldozed like it has been for a decade now,” said Ms Sonia Gandhi, chairperson of the Congress Parliamentary Committee.
“No longer will the writ of the ruling establishment be permitted to disrupt parliament, whimsically mistreat members, or push through legislation without due and proper consideration and debate. No longer will parliament be muzzled and stifled as it has been over the past 10 years.”
The surprising result marks a comeback for opposition Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi, whom critics have often called a weak, inaccessible and reluctant politician.
His party nearly doubled its tally of parliamentary seats to 99, and raised its vote share from the last election.
Mr Gandhi, who became the face of the opposition bloc in this election, contested two seats and won both by a landslide.
“We fought this election to save the Constitution,” he said. “Modi’s BJP cracked down on our finances, arrested opposition leaders, forced leaders to defect to their party. I was sure that Indians would save our democracy.”
The INDIA bloc’s performance came after it executed several campaign strategies. These include having joint rallies with partners, leaning on rural support enjoyed by regional parties in states like Uttar Pradesh, and holding pan-India yatra – a deeply evocative Sanskrit word meaning pilgrimage – marches in the run up to the polls.
“I think the narrative came largely from Rahul Gandhi and his yatra. The narrative brought all of us together,” said senior Congress leader Pawan Khera, adding that the alliance raised various pressing issues from unemployment to cost of living pressures.
“So I think these issues resonated well with the entire country.”
