In 1978 and 1980, when Indira Gandhi looked to make her comeback after being routed in 1977, she chose Karnataka and the then united Andhra Pradesh to storm back into parliament, contesting and winning from Chikmagalur and Medak. Today Congress has lost Telangana, doesn’t exist in Andhra and in Karnataka was forced to tie up with JD(S) as a junior partner. Congress seems to be fading into nothingness, the Gandhi family name now a painful liability.
In Maharashtra and Haryana, the two states now heading into assembly elections, Congress is beset by open leadership battles. In Maharashtra, once a Congress citadel, the Mumbai unit is split wide open by the public spat between Milind Deora and Sanjay Nirupam. In the rural Read More