As a part of this containment strategy, it aggressively targets the family, particularly Rahul Gandhi. It knows only the Congress can significantly shatter its hegemony; if it goes from 20% to 25% of the votes; or if it effectively combines its vote base with that of regional players. So, for BJP, Congress is the only threat to its pan India hegemony.RSS/BJP are also determined to skew the democratic playing field in their own favour through a variety of devices. The chief weapon is the anonymous Electoral Bonds, but not the only one. This has been combined with RSS Governors in states, packing the Election Commission, selective application of the law, and beyond the pale communal polarisation of the polity.Given this BJP strategy, what should Congress do? Congress’s vote bases have changed significantly over the years. But with a carefully calibrated strategy, it can still build a core of 30% of votes by combining SC/STs with minority communities like Muslims, who by now know their very lebensraum is being shrunk by the RSS/BJP hegemony.So, the core of 20% SC/STs + 10% Muslims/ minority puts Congress already at 30% of the vote against BJP’s 40%. Of course, for this to happen, Congress will have to carefully tell its base that come what may, it will safeguard their core interests. Once Congress has finetuned its strategy for 30% of the votes, its bargaining position vis-a-vis regional players becomes much better.
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