How will Rahul Gandhi's court triumph affect Congress's fortunes in the south?
Lok Sabha elections. While the Supreme Court's decision has reverberated across the Congress, images of joy in southern states stood out as a clear reminder of the interplay between legal proceedings and political realities. As Congress workers held celebratory rallies with large crowds in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, they expressed confidence that the party would win the upcoming assembly elections.
The overall media coverage in southern states also viewed the decision as a vindication of Gandhi's leadership. Congress insiders hailed the decision as a watershed moment that would drastically influence the party's political fortunes in southern states. The party has recently been relying on the south to counter its loss of electoral appeal in the north.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Gandhi sought a seat outside the family bastion of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh for the first time, and found it in Kerala's Wayanad. As Gandhi had to tour India extensively for the elections, it was chosen as a safe seat where he could attend only a few rallies and yet win. Gandhi was following in the footsteps of his grandmother, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, who won from Karnataka's Chikmagalur in 1978 and Telangana's (previously Andhra Pradesh) Medak in 1980, bucking the anti-Emergency wave; and his mother Sonia Gandhi, who won from Karnataka's Bellary in 1999.
The Supreme Court’s decision helped the Congress greatly. Not only did Gandhi win Wayanad by a landslide, his popular appeal helped the party sweep 19 of Kerala's 20 Lok Sabha seats. The Congress won nearly half of its total of 52 seats in five southern states and union territories in 2019.
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