Friday, 17 May, 2024
By: Arshi Qureshi
Amid the Congress internal trouble, we will look at Congress’ performance since 1984
Since Rahul Gandhi resigned as the party president in May 2019 and accepted moral accountability for the party's disastrous performance in the Lok Sabha elections, the Congress has been plagued by the leadership issue. Sonia Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi volunteered to resign after a catastrophic result in the recent assembly elections in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa, and Manipur, but the CWC (Congress Working Committee) rejected their request.
According to reports, Ms Sonia Gandhi had asked Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot to take over the responsibility, however Gehlot denied that Sonia Gandhi had offered him the party president post.
Amid the Congress internal trouble, we will look at Congress’ performance since 1984.
1984
The 1984 Lok Sabha elections were held shortly after Indira Gandhi's assassination. The Indian National Congress won with a landslide victory under Rajiv Gandhi, the party won 404 of the 514 seats, with a vote share of 49.10%. The Congress went on to bag 10 more seats in the 1985 polls held in Assam and Punjab, totalling it to 414 seats.
The BJP had its worst-ever performance, winning only two seats (one each in Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat) and garnering 7.74 percent of the vote.
1989
In 1989 - the Congress decreased to less than half of its 1984 number, winning 197 of the 510 seats with a vote share of 39.5%. And BJP won 85 of the 225 seats it contested, it lent support to the Janata Dal, which won 143 seats out of 244 seats. Total seats for all the parties were 529.
1991
Following the premature dissolution of the Lok Sabha on March 13, 1991, elections were held for its 524 seats. In November 1990, the Janata Dal (Socialist) party's C. Shekhar was sworn in to lead a new minority government after Prime Minister V.P. Singh's 11-month-old National Front coalition government was defeated in a vote of confidence in parliament.
Following disagreements with the Congress party, he also announced his resignation on March 6. This led to the dissolution of the assembly a week later. P V Narasimha Rao of Indian National Congress became the Prime Minister of India from 1991 till 1996. The Congress won 232 seats out of 487 it contested, however the party vote share decreased to 36.26 % from 39.5%.
Out of the 468 seats it contested for, BJP won 120. BJP’s increase in seats from 85 was a big achievement, its vote share also rose dramatically, reaching 20.11%. The total seats for all parties were 521.
1996
The Congress lost almost 100 seats from 1991 and plummeted to 140 seats as the BJP won 161 of the 471 seats it contested for. Though the Congress maintained the lead in vote share with 28.8 % against BJP’s 20.29 %.
1998
The Congress' withdrawal of support for the I.K. Gujral-led United Front administration forced the 1998 election. While the Congress won 141 seats out of 477 seats it contested, BJP bagged 182 seats out of 388 it contested. Congress’ vote share further dropped to 25.8 %.
1999
With just 114 seats, the Congress had its poorest Lok Sabha performance ever. With 28.3% of the vote against the BJP's 23.75%, the Congress maintained its edge in the vote-share. 182 seats went to the BJP.
2004
145 seats were obtained by the Congress, compared to 138 by the BJP. With a vote share of 26.5% against the BJP's 22.16%, the Congress maintained its lead. The Congress was able to form a government with the help of the CPI(M), SP, and BSP in addition to its allies.
2009
With 206 seats elected, the Congress had its strongest election since 1991, with a vote share of 28.6% and BJP performed its worst since 1989 Lok Sabha elections. The Party won 116 seats and the vote share 18.8%.
2014
Since 1984, the scenario for the BJP has altered. The BJP gained from 2 to 282, while the Congress shrank from 415 to just 44 of the 464 seats it contested. The BJP outperformed the Congress in terms of vote share for the first time ever. Congress received only 19.52% of the vote, while the BJP earned 31.34% of the vote.
2019
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party received 37.4% of the votes cast. The NDA as a whole, received nearly 45% of the vote. The Congress won 52 seats out of 422 it contested, and the vote share was 19.7%.
Looking at the data of Congress declining performance since 1991 and then 2009 - India’s grand old party’s revival seems inevitable. The party appears to be in danger of collapsing, and unable to survive either with or without the Gandhis. The party organisation seems to be in turmoil, and the central leadership is ineffective.
