'North-South Divide' jibe: Congress just shot itself in the foot again

As the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured victories in the assembly elections of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Telangana, a debate emerged over a perceived north-south divide raised by some in the Congress party.

Team Asianet Newsable

First Published Dec 3, 2023, 5:05 PM IST

The debate over a north-south divide took centre stage as the verdict of the assembly elections to Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh unfolded in favour of the Bharatiya Janata Party. As the Congress started losing control over Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, some Congress leaders took to social media to claim that a north-south divide had evolved from the assembly election verdict. Ironically, it was Rahul Gandhi who undertook a march from Kanyakumari to Kashmir under the banner of 'Bharat Jodo'.

Praveen Chakravarty, chairman of the Professionals’ Congress, took to Twitter to say that the South and North boundary line was getting thinker and clearer. Though the post was deleted later, the uproar had already erupted. Those within the Congress too lashed out at the post, which came on the day when the Grand Old Party had faced massive embarrassments.

Party leader Tehseen Poonawalla took to social media platform X to post, "Warning: The North-South divide will BACKFIRE! Don't indulge in it & reduce the legacy of the Congress, the first Nationalist & the oldest political party of this great nation! Just like people did not like the abuse of Sanatan DHARMA they won't tolerate the NORTH SOUTH divide!"

Other social media users were even more ruthless. One user commented, "Only ignoramus buffoons can peddle this absurd 'North-South divide' narrative when you can clearly see that the BJP has doubled its vote share and is winning 10x more seats in Telangana from the last assembly elections."

Another user said, "North-South divide seems to be the script handed down to the usual Congress ecosystem. All of them are parroting the same thing. Will only help the BJP notch up much higher numbers in 2024 from the south as well."

In reality, more than the argument of the north-south divide, it seems to be the case of the BJP-led NDA making electoral gains in the country. A look at the political map of India is an indicator of that. Take a look:

North South Divide jibe: Congress just shot itself in the foot again