The Congress party, over the years, has shown that it’s incapable of honest self-reflection. Its primary objective, after every election defeat, is not to make attempts to ascertain the real causes of its defeat but to exhaust their resources in trying to absolve the Nehru-Gandhi Parivar of its sins.
Now that the Exit Polls are out and all of them predict the NDA to return to power with Narendra Modi as Prime Minister, it is safe for us to predict that there will be similar reactions from the Congress party this time around as well. The Congress party will deflect attention from the utter failure of the leadership of its party and look for scapegoats to blame.
Let us take a look at the top 5 entities the party will blame to avoid holding Rahul Gandhi accountable for the defeat.
1. Sam Pitroda
Sammy has been wild this election season. From insulting the martyrs of the Pulwama Terror Attack to saying ‘Hua toh Hua‘ about the 1984 Sikh riots, he filled the great void left behind by Mani Shankar Aiyar’s absence in an amazing manner.
He criticized the Balakot Airstrikes as well, carried out in response to the Pulwama Terror Attack. He had said, “Don’t know much about attacks. It happens all the time. The attack happened in Mumbai also, we could have then reacted and just sent our planes but that is not the right approach. According to me, that’s not how you deal with the world.” When criticized for his remarks, he had called it a “trivial matter”. Not merely that, he arrogantly told everyone to move on from the issue of Sikh Genocide.
Things reached a point that even ‘neutral’ journalists were begging Pitroda to refrain from making public statements. Therefore, it’s quite certain that he will be made a scapegoat in the days to come.
2. Mani Shankar Aiyar
One of the great heroes of 2014 General Elections and the Assembly Elections in Gujarat, Aiyar was late to the party this time around. But when he eventually emerged on the scene, he came pretty much with a bang.
First, he justified the ‘Neech’ remark he had made in the run-up to the Gujarat Assembly Elections in 2017. In an article for ThePrint, Aiyar wrote how he is so confident that Modi will be ousted on 23rd May and it will be a ‘fitting end’ to the ‘most foul-mouthed’ prime minister India has ever had. Like a cherry on the cake, he topped it off with saying, “Remember how I described him on 7 December 2017? Was I not prophetic?”
When criticized for justifying his appalling remark, Aiyar played the victim card and blamed the media instead. “A statement has already come from my side. There is an entire article. You are choosing a line from the article and asking me to comment on it. I will not fall into your trap. I may be a fool, but not that big a fool,” Aiyar said.
Then, in a video that went viral on social media, Aiyar could be seen in a not very healthy state of mind as he made mystifying body movements and went on a tirade against a journalist asking him questions. Eventually, he told the journalist to ‘f*ck off’ in what can only be described as perplexing behaviour.
Therefore, when Pitroda is made the scapegoat for the defeat, he won’t suffer for lack of company.
3. EVMs
EVMs have long been blamed for unfairly favouring the BJP. It has become a common ruse for the Opposition parties to blame them for their own failures. Therefore, it would be too much to expect that things won’t be the same this time around as well.
In fact, Rahul Gandhi has himself come out with all guns blazing against EVMs even before the first vote has been counted. AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal, too, has voiced similar concerns.
Sammy, with wisdom dripping from every strand of his pristine white hair and pitch black beard, too said something was wrong with EVMs. He assured everyone that although he had no idea what was actually wrong with, given enough time, he is confident he will be able to figure it out.
In the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections itself, Congress had ridden the ‘EVM glitch’ bogey. Therefore, it’s extremely unlikely that EVMs won’t be held responsible in the event of Modi’s victory.
4. The Election Commission
The Congress party, along with the rest of the Opposition, has made it a habit of maligning the Election Commission. It’s something they have been doing since a long time. In the run up to the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections and during the polls, the Congress ecosystem has been trying hard to discredit the Indian Elections by attacking the institution itself. All the while as the ECI was actually being overly accommodating of ‘secular’ parties.
After the exit polls were out, the Congress President, too, along with senior leader Chidambaram accused the ECI of capitulating before Narendra Modi. Mamata Banerjee, whose own turf is under serious threat, has been accusing the ECI and central forces of unfairly favouring the BJP, all the while as the goons in her party rank amok in the streets targeting voters and BJP leaders alike.
Thus, the ECI will be seriously attacked by the Opposition come May 23rd.
5. Non-Lutyens Media
In the aftermath of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections as well, Congress propagandists in Lutyens Media had peddled the narrative that the Modi Wave was entirely the creation of the media. This time around as well, the Congress ecosystem has been accusing the media of helping the BJP in their campaign.
While much of the mainstream media resorted to spreading fake news, divisive politics and openly acting as advisers to the Congress party, come May 23rd, the ‘Khan Market Gang’ would still be crediting the media should Modi win.
The Wire, Scroll, NDTV, Ravish Kumar, The Print and numerous other outlets have been openly spreading false propaganda against the BJP. Yet, the Congress party and their sympathizers will still accuse the media of kneeling before Narendra Modi despite the fact that an overwhelming majority of it has been working against the saffron party.
