POLITICS

Is the Congress-NC alliance in J&K in trouble?

It was supposed to be a piece of the Congress’s continued upswing in the Assembly elections but the party appears to be in an uncomfortable position in J&K, where it has an alliance with National Conference for the assembly polls. The party is leading the charge in Jammu. But things apparently have not gone to plan. Former J&K Chief Minister and NC vice-president Omar Abdullah has said that his party entrusted the Congress with a significant number of seats in the Jammu division, but, “unfortunately, the Congress has not done as much in the plains of Jammu as we expected them to do”. Does the statement have any political significance?.

Haryana VS polls: Prime Minister taking backseat to local candidates?

The Haryana BJP has earlier relied a lot on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity and thus, in 2014 his massive rallies helped party to win Assembly polls. With his 10 rallies in the state ahead of the 2014 assembly election, Modi catapulted the BJP in Haryana from a party that used to get single-digit assembly seats to one that formed the government on its own for the first time with 47 seats in the 90-member state assembly. The party also relied on Modi in 2019, but his rallies decreased to six. This time, Modi has addressed only four rallies in Haryana, raising many eyebrows. The declining trend of his rallies raises questions about the underlying factors shaping the BJP campaign strategy in Haryana. The party appears to be relying more on established local machinery rather than Modi campaigning in person, especially as they face challenges from a resurgent Congress.