Kumbhs gave Congress all reasons to smile

LUCKNOW: Kumbh, Allahabad and Congress make a strange trio. However, what seems to be interesting is the fact that the congregation of humanity, which takes place at Sangam once in every 12 years, and the grand old party of India (Congress) share a special relationship with each other, and if electoral statistics are to be believed, then out of the six general elections held in the vicinity of Kumbhs, in five such elections, the Congress has clearly emerged as the single largest party, and went on to form the government at the Centre.The first time, it could not gain on the Kumbh advantage was in 1977, when the Congress became a victim to the anti-incumbency factor.
Another interesting link between Kumbh and the national politics is that of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of India, who won the first general election on a Congress ticket from Allahabad district (east) cum Jaunpur district (west), thereafter Phuplur, another Lok Sabha constituency (also in Allahabad), became Nehru's bastion (and he won in 1957 as well as 1962).
In 2001, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi visited the Kumbh Mela, and in the 2004 general elections, Congress emerged as the surprise winner, deflating the feel good factor of the Bharatiya Janata Party. The Congress was able to bag 145 seats, edging out the BJP's tally of 138. The vote share of the Congress stood at 26.53%, while that of the BJP was 22.16%. In Uttar Pradesh, the BJP won 10 seats, while the Congress could manage to win only 9 Lok Sabha seats.
The year 1989 saw both Lok Sabha election as well as Kumbh at Prayag. And in the parliamentary elections, Congress emerged as the single-largest party bagging 197 votes with a vote share of 39.53%, while the BJP could raise its tally to 85 seats and a vote share of 11.36%. In UP, the Congress tally reached 15, while the BJP had to contend with 8 seats only. The lion share of seats went to Janta Dal, which bagged 54 seats out of 85 Lok Sabha seats.
"However, the Congress magic was not able to spell its charm on the voters in 1977, and the party fared rather bad in the general elections. Interestingly, it was during Kumbh (January 19, 1977), when the election dates were announced by the Election Commission of India," says senior Congress leader and octogenarian Satya Prakash Malviya and added that Congress candidate Indira Gandhi lost to BLD's Raj Narain from Rae Bareli parliamentary constituency. However, Congress had the last laugh, as rival political parties could not form a stable government for five years, thereby forcing another general election on the voters. This time, the grand old party of India swept the polls bagging 404 seats securing 49.10% votes in the process, while the BJP's tally reached its lowest ebb - 2 seats and the vote share touching barely 7.74%. In UP too, the party recorded one of its best performances bagging 83 out of 85 seats, whereas the BJP was not able to win a single seat.
"The governments headed by Vishwanath Pratap Singh and Chandrashekhar could not complete their five-year tenure. And, as a result, the country faced mid-term polls in 1991. The Congress won 232 seats (36.26% vote share), while the BJP claimed 120 seats (20.11% vote share). And, the Congress under PV Narasimha Rao was able to complete five-year tenure," added Malviya.
The 1965 Kumbh was held almost three years after the third general election. The 1962 general election saw, Congress romping home with 361 Lok Sabha seats with a respectable national vote share of 44.72%, and in UP, the party emerged as the winner on 62 seats. Similarly, in the first general election, which took place in 1951-- three years before the 1954 Maha Kumbh, witnessed Congress winning 364 seats (44.99% vote share), and in UP, the party made a clean sweep, pocketing all the 81 Lok Sabha seats.