Congress prepares for high-stakes elections in five states with caste census demands and promises in place

 Congress prepares for high-stakes elections in five states with caste census demands and promises in place

The Elections Commission of India announced on Monday the dates for the forthcoming assembly elections to be conducted in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, and Mizoram, setting the scene for the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections. Voting will take place from November 7 until November 30. 

The Congress is prepared to put all on the line to win the crucial election in five states, which is seen as the litmus test between the BJP-led NDA and the INDIA coalition in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. 

On Monday, the working committee of the Congress met. The grand old party has also gotten off to a fast start in the election-bound states and is solidifying its strategy with "poll guarantees" and a need for a caste census as its key election pillars, the latter of which is obviously due to the success of the Bihar Caste Census. 

In the other three states that are holding elections—Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, and Mizoram—Congress is attempting to gain control while attempting to maintain control in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.

Notably, the 2024 Lok Sabha election would be influenced by the Congress' success in the five state assembly elections. On December 3, the results of the five assembly elections scheduled for November will be announced. It might demonstrate Congress' strength in the polls and determine its negotiating position within the INDIA group.

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It should be noted that the Congress had triumphed in the assembly elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh in 2019, but had a poor performance in the Lok Sabha elections a few months later.

Political analysts have said, according to a PTI article, that Congress seems to be facing a challenging challenge in Rajasthan, where the revolving door habit has prevailed for over three decades.

Even while there is considerable internal conflict among both the Congress and the BJP, they have maintained a unified front in public because they know the election might be close.

The Congress seems to be doing well in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. On the strength of social programs for the needy, it hopes to retake power in Chhattisgarh, and after its government in Madhya Pradesh was overthrown in 2020, it is looking to do the same there.

The BJP has joined the race in Telangana, where the Congress is attempting to overthrow the BRS's powerful K Chandrashekar Rao administration.

With just five members in the 40-member parliament, the Mizo National Front is in power in Mizoram. Despite this, the grand old party is hoping that a strong performance in this state would help it gain ground elsewhere in the northeast.

The Congress' success in the assembly elections will determine not only how well-positioned it is to challenge the BJP in 2024, but also how much negotiating leverage it has with other members of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA).

The Congress wants to make sure that it reaches the "finals" in 2024 as a viable opponent to the BJP and not as a minnow filling down the numbers. To do this, it is riding its welfare "guarantees" and caste census pledge.