Though the hill State never repeats the incumbent Government, the Congress’ win in Himachal Pradesh has come as a face saver for the grand old party whose worst-ever performance in Gujarat, remains a major worry.

More so since the AAP is gradually eating into its vote bank and occupying its space.

Coming just a day after its rout in the MCD polls, the credit for the Himachal win goes to the likes of Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel, general secretary Priyanka Gandhi and State leadership, including party chief Pratibha Singh.

With the party’s tallest leader Rahul Gandhi staying away from campaigning, busy as he is in Bharat Jodo Yatra, the win in Himachal is the first under the watch of Priyanka.

It is sure to give her leadership credentials a big boost especially after being written off following the Congress’ rout under her in Uttar Pradesh in the last Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.

 The win in Himachal has given the leaders of the party something to cheer about. The party, currently in power on its own only in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh now has the latest addition in HP. It lost Madhya Pradesh mid way after losing one-third of its legislators. It lost Karnataka and Maharashtra subsequently, despite being in power there. 

 The victory will also be significant for the party especially because its electoral clout in the north has been on a decline for more than a decade now. But then, the Congress will have to fight tooth and nail for the next year Assembly polls in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Karnataka since its Opposition leadership remains challenged by parties such as the AAP and the TMC, and the success of the ongoing Bharat Jodo Yatra’s electoral dividends is yet to ascertained.

With Congress winning the Himachal Pradesh polls, its leaders credited Priyanka and strategist Baghel, who together had hands on experience in the Assam Assembly polls wherein the party had a decent outing. The duo even partnered for strategising this year’s mega Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls.  

 But the decimation in Gujarat would not only have a bearing on the morale of the Congress and its workers that has been running high on the back a “successful” rollout of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, but also impact the party’s ability to mobilise support and resources for future electoral battles. Rahul had taken a break for a day from his ongoing yatra and did two public rallies and the entire campaign was dependent on State leadership and incharge Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot.

 The dismal showing in the Gujarat polls comes as a big jolt for the party as it risks ceding the space of opposition in the State to the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP in a State which has been bi-party over the years. It would also impact its bargaining power vis-a-vis other Opposition parties. Also, losing Gujarat badly could also add to the exodus of leaders that the party has been facing.

 In Himachal, Priyanka held several rallies and was also closely involved in strategy planning for the polls in the Himalayan State. Many leaders hailed her leadership in securing the win for the party and defeating the BJP’s election machinery. AICC in charge of Himachal Pradesh Rajeev Shukla hailed Priyanka’s campaign and leadership, lauding the “hard work” put in by her.

 Senior Congress leader Anand Sharma, who has on many occasion questioned party leadership also complimented Priyanka for her “spirited” campaign in the State. He was also part of the infamous Group of 23 G-23 of Congress leader who had asked the leadership for immediate overhaul of the party.

 This was Priyanka’s first electoral success while heading the campaign charge. The party had lost Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls while she spearheaded the canvassing there earlier this year. Based on her feedback, a systematic election campaign was prepared under her and that involved framing of welfare schemes for women, youth, and employees.

 During her rallies Priyanka raised the issues of Agnipath, inflation, unemployment and the old pension scheme. The mood of the State was however gauged in October 2021 bypolls when Congress won all the four seats all spearheaded by incumbent State unit chief Pratibha Singh, wife of the Himachal Pradesh tallest Congress leader late Virbhadra Singh.   .

Expressing gratitude to the voters for the win over Sardarshahr Assembly bypoll, Rajasthan Chief Minister Gehlot who is battling a regular rebellion from his former deputy Sachin Pilot, claimed that the bypoll result was a clear message that the Congress will form the Government in Rajasthan in 2023 with an absolute majority