Mumbai: Following the INDIA bloc’s strong performance in the recently concluded by-polls across seven states, senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP P Chidambaram expressed optimism on Sunday, stating that the “wind is behind the sails of the INDIA bloc.”
In an interview with ANI, Chidambaram emphasized that the by-elections reflect public sentiment against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). “The by-elections show that the mood of the people is against the BJP. But where the structure of the Congress party is weak, I’m afraid that the ‘mood’ alone would not help. We have to work in states where the structure of the party is weak,” Chidambaram said. “But by and large, the wind is behind the sails of the INDIA bloc.”
The INDIA bloc secured 10 out of the 13 assembly seats contested in the by-polls, while the BJP won two seats, and an independent candidate took one seat. The by-elections were held in Hamirpur, Nalagarh, and Dehra in Himachal Pradesh; Raiganj, Ranaghat Dakshin, Bagda, and Maniktala in West Bengal; Badrinath and Manglaur in Uttarakhand; Jalandhar West in Punjab; Rupauli in Bihar; Vikravandi in Tamil Nadu; and Amarwara in Madhya Pradesh.
Candidates from the INDIA bloc parties, including the Trinamool Congress (TMC), Congress, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), participated in these elections. In Himachal Pradesh, Congress won two seats (Nalagarh and Dehra), while the BJP secured one (Hamirpur). The TMC claimed all four seats in West Bengal. In Uttarakhand, Congress won both contested seats. AAP won the lone seat in Punjab, DMK took the lone seat in Tamil Nadu, the BJP secured the lone seat in Madhya Pradesh, and an independent candidate won in Bihar.
Chidambaram also addressed the central government’s decision to observe ‘Samvidhan Hatya Diwas’ on June 25 to mark the anniversary of the 1975 emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi’s Congress government. He questioned the BJP’s focus on past events, stating, “Why is the BJP not going back to the 18th or 17th century? 75 percent of the Indians living today were born after 1975. Emergency was a mistake and it was accepted by Indira Gandhi. We have amended the Constitution so that an emergency cannot be imposed so easily.”
Chidambaram underscored the irrelevance of debating the emergency after 50 years, emphasizing the lessons learned. “What is the point of debating the rights and wrongs of the emergency 50 years later? The BJP must forget the past. We have learned the lessons from the past,” he stated.
The NDA government’s announcement to observe ‘Samvidhan Hatya Diwas’ has sparked criticism from opposition parties targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration. The 1975 Emergency remains a significant historical event in India, marked by political instability and the suppression of civil liberties. Declared by then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, the Emergency involved the suspension of fundamental rights and strict censorship to suppress political dissent and maintain control.
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