Telangana election results: Why a victory for Congress will be significant for grand old party

NEW DELHI: The assembly election result trends from Telangana show that the Congress is moving towards its first victory in the state, with the grand old party taking a comfortable lead over the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi of K Chandrasekhar Rao. The Congress, which won 19 seats in 2014 and 21 seats in 2018, has crossed the half way mark in the state according to the latest trends.

If the Congress manages to hold on to its leads and goes on to win the state, it will be a significant victory for the grand old party ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. After Karnataka, a win in Telangana will consolidate Congress's position in the south and this may help the party in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Another great significance of this possible win for the Congress would be that after a long time, the grand old party would be reclaiming political space from a regional party after losing to it.

The Congress has not been able to make a comeback after losing to regional parties in states like Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Delhi. The results in Telangana may perhaps change that trend and give a lot of confidence to the grand old party.

The results will also come as a big boost to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge who not only campaigned aggressively in the state but also gave a lot of space to the state leaders. Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka also campaigned hard in the state.