{"id":7029,"date":"2026-04-22T14:32:04","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T09:02:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/why-congress-faces-a-no-win-situation-in-west-bengal-india-news\/"},"modified":"2026-04-22T14:32:04","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T09:02:04","slug":"why-congress-faces-a-no-win-situation-in-west-bengal-india-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/why-congress-faces-a-no-win-situation-in-west-bengal-india-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Congress faces a \u2018no-win\u2019 situation in West Bengal | India News"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\"Why<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Mamata Banerjee and Rahul Gandhi (File photo\/PTI)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

On May 2, 2021, Rahul Gandhi congratulated Mamata Banerjee and the people of West Bengal for \u201csoundly defeating the BJP<\/a>.\u201d\u201cI\u2019m happy to congratulate Mamata ji and the people of West Bengal for soundly defeating the BJP,\u201d he wrote on Twitter (now called X).However, the irony was hard to miss. While the BJP had indeed been kept out of power, it recorded its strongest-ever performance in the state \u2014 winning 77 seats, up from just three in 2016 \u2014 and firmly established itself as the principal challenger to the TMC. <\/p>\n

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\"West<\/p>\n

West Bengal assembly elections 2021 results<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Congress<\/a>, by contrast, failed to open its account.Five years later, as Banerjee seeks a fourth consecutive term and the BJP eyes its maiden government in West Bengal, Congress finds itself out of the race and staring at a no-win situation: a Mamata victory could position her as a frontrunner for the opposition\u2019s prime ministerial face in 2029, while a BJP triumph would add a major state to its kitty and further strengthen its momentum ahead of the general election.Which of the two outcomes would the grand old party prefer?<\/p>\n

Mamata Banerjee\u2019s rise
<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n

A former Congress leader, Banerjee founded the TMC in January 1998, and the party has since been part of governments at the Centre led by both the Congress and the BJP. Now an on-and-off ally of the Congress, she ended the Left Front\u2019s 34-year rule in West Bengal in 2011 and secured two further terms, firmly establishing herself as one of India\u2019s most formidable regional leaders. <\/p>\n

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\"West<\/p>\n

West Bengal CMs in last 50 years<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

After a setback in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, when the BJP won 18 of West Bengal\u2019s 42 constituencies, Banerjee staged a strong comeback just two years later, leading the Trinamool to a third consecutive term.The optics of TMC\u2019s victory, despite an aggressive BJP campaign led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah, combined with Banerjee\u2019s decision to take on her former aide Suvendu Adhikari in his stronghold Nandigram \u2014 where she lost narrowly \u2014 burnished her credentials. <\/p>\n

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\"Mamata<\/p>\n

Mamata Banerjee Quote<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

A fourth term would all but put her firmly in contention to lead the national opposition in the 2029 contest.<\/p>\n

BJP\u2019s emergence as principal challenger to TMC<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n

The BJP did not find immediate success in West Bengal after Modi became prime minister in May 2014, winning just two Lok Sabha seats that year and only three constituencies in the assembly polls two years later.That changed in 2019, when it won 303 Lok Sabha seats, including 18 from West Bengal.In 2021, though the BJP fell far short of its 200-seat target, it firmly recast the state\u2019s politics as a two-horse race. <\/p>\n

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\"BJP's<\/p>\n

BJP’s seat surge in Bengal<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Nationally, too, despite no longer enjoying a majority of its own, the saffron party, with 240 Lok Sabha MPs\u2014more than the combined opposition\u2014remains on favourite to secure a fourth term, reinforcing the perception of sustained national dominance.<\/p>\n

Congress\u2019 decline in West Bengal\u2014and beyond
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In February, Congress unilaterally ended its alliance with the Left Front and announced it would go it alone in West Bengal. This, in a state where, despite its rich political history, the party has not had a chief minister since 1977, when its three-decade run in power, dating back to 1947, came to an end. <\/p>\n

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\"Congress'<\/p>\n

Congress’ declining arc in Bengal<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Its dominance in the Lok Sabha from West Bengal has been far more limited. The last time Congress reached double digits in the state was in 1984, when it won 16 seats as part of its nationwide sweep of 414 seats.Since then, Congress has not secured a majority on its own at the Centre. In the last three Lok Sabha elections, it failed to cross the 100-seat mark. It is currently in power in just three states\u2014Karnataka, Telangana and Himachal Pradesh. The removal of Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, a staunch Mamata critic, by the Congress as its Bengal unit chief, was also seen by many as the party “capitulating” to the TMC supremo. Chowdhury had held the Baharampur Lok Sabha seat\u2014where Muslims make up roughly half the electorate\u2014since 1999. In the 2024 general elections, Banerjee nominated former cricketer Yusuf Pathan, a Gujarat native, who went on to unseat Chowdhury. <\/p>\n

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\"Adhir<\/p>\n

Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Congress’ Rahul dilemma: Can’t win with him, can’t do without him
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Congress contested the 2014, 2019, and 2024 general elections under Rahul Gandhi\u2019s leadership, albeit without formally projecting him as its prime ministerial face. The 2019 defeat was chastening in both magnitude and context, coming under his direct leadership as party president and soon after he oversaw assembly victories in three Hindi heartland states in December 2018. Although he resigned as party chief in July 2019, Gandhi has continued to be the party\u2019s most prominent face and principal decision-maker. <\/p>\n

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\"Rahul<\/p>\n

Rahul Gandhi career<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Congress\u2019 2024 resurgence\u2014along with that of the broader opposition\u2014was widely credited to Gandhi\u2019s two “Bharat Jodo” pan-India marches, which many believe contributed to a noticeable shift in public perception of him. He was subsequently made leader of the opposition, the first since 2014. <\/p>\n

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\"Rahul<\/p>\n

Rahul Gandhi career<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

However, what followed was a series of electoral reverses in the state assembly elections. He subsequently alleged irregularities by the Election Commission, accusing it of bias towards the BJP and holding multiple press conferences on the issue, but the setbacks continued.According to political observers, what weakens Gandhi is that he has never held public office\u2014even when his own party was in power from 2004 to 2014\u2014along with the Congress\u2019 poor electoral record under his leadership, his frequent foreign trips, and a tendency to raise issues that often fail to resonate with voters and persist with them despite their lack of traction on the ground\u2014raising persistent questions about his effectiveness as a national challenger.<\/p>\n

Leadership question within INDIA bloc
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The INDIA bloc, formed in July 2023, brought together Congress and several regional parties opposed to the BJP under one umbrella. With the grand old party as its de facto anchor, they avoided projecting a prime ministerial face, and managed to bring the BJP below the majority mark.Yet, the leadership question persisted, particularly after Congress\u2019s successive defeats in state elections that followed the general election.In December 2024, following the defeat of the Maha Vikas Aghadi\u2014of which Congress is a constituent\u2014in Maharashtra, Banerjee expressed her willingness to lead the INDIA grouping and was promptly endorsed by senior leaders such as Lalu Prasad Yadav and Sharad Pawar. <\/p>\n

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\"Mamata<\/p>\n

Mamata Banerjee quote<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Sharad<\/p>\n

Sharad Pawar quote<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

For its part, Congress has repeatedly avoided endorsing Banerjee, instead emphasising the need to keep the alliance united. This includes party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, whose name was proposed as a prime ministerial candidate by both Banerjee and AAP\u2019s Arvind Kejriwal in December 2023. <\/p>\n

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\"Mallikarjun<\/p>\n

Mallikarjun Kharge quote<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Gandhi has also constantly played down suggestions that he should be projected as a contender, instead emphasising the need for the bloc to remain united to \u201csave democracy\u201d in what he repeatedly describes as an \u201cideological battle\u201d against the ruling dispensation. <\/p>\n

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\"Rahul<\/p>\n

Rahul Gandhi quote<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

However, in February, senior Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar explicitly endorsed Banerjee, calling her the \u201cleader of the alliance.\u201d He also said the INDIA bloc \u201cbelongs to the smaller parties\u201d and that Gandhi should \u201clet them handle it.\u201d <\/p>\n

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\"Mani<\/p>\n

Mani Shankar Aiyar quote<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

This, in turn, brings the leadership question within the INDIA bloc into focus.<\/p>\n

What Bengal means for each player
<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n

The TMC and the BJP are both pushing hard to win West Bengal, each driven by their own distinct set of reason. For the Trinamool, retaining the state is crucial, as it has little presence beyond it. A defeat may not end Banerjee\u2019s political career, but it would significantly dent her national ambitions. <\/p>\n

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\"TMC<\/p>\n

TMC SWOT<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The BJP\u2019s objectives are both ideological and political\u2014ideological because Shyama Prasad Mookerjee, the founder of its predecessor, the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, was born here; and political because a victory would mark a major expansion of its footprint and strengthen its position ahead of the 2029 battle. <\/p>\n

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\"BJP<\/p>\n

BJP SWOT<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

For Congress, largely out of the race, the contest offers an opportunity to rebuild and improve its position in the state, but does little to change the bigger picture. <\/p>\n

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\"Congress<\/p>\n

Congress SWOT<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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A state contest, a national question for Congress
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Congress\u2019s current spell out of power at the Centre is its longest ever, and the first to last a decade or more. Still, it remains the only national alternative to the BJP.Yet, West Bengal presents a unique dilemma for Congress\u2014one that would either further strengthen its national rival\u2019s prospects for the next Lok Sabha polls or give a regional competitor the platform to project itself for a larger, national role.Voting for the state\u2019s 294 assembly constituencies will be held in two phases. In the first phase on Thursday, 152 seats will go to the polls, while the remaining 142 will vote on April 29, with counting scheduled for May 4.<\/div>\n


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Mamata Banerjee and Rahul Gandhi (File photo\/PTI) On May 2, 2021, Rahul Gandhi congratulated Mamata Banerjee and the people of West Bengal for \u201csoundly defeating the BJP.\u201d\u201cI\u2019m happy to congratulate Mamata ji and the people of West Bengal for soundly defeating the BJP,\u201d he wrote on Twitter (now called X).However, the irony was hard to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7030,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[133],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-7029","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-country"},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7029","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7029"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7029\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7030"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7029"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7029"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7029"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}