Poll Setback: Omar Abdullah, Other INDIA Bloc Allies Flay Congress

Not only the National Conference but even the Shiv Sena-UBT has questioned the Congress party over 'arrogance'.

The Haryana election result has not only spoiled the Congress party's dream but has also given a chance to its allies to question its performance. Not only the National Conference but even the Shiv Sena-UBT has questioned the Congress party's 'arrogance'. This also comes as two states - Maharashtra and Jharkhand - are going to the polls this year while Delhi and Bihar are slated for elections next year.

Congress will contest the Maharashtra polls with Shiv Sena-UBT and NCP-Sharad Pawar. The 288 seats Maharashtra Assembly will go to polls later this year. The Election Commission of India has yet to announce the poll dates. 

'Huge Shock': Omar Abdullah

Speaking to the media after the assembly poll results became clear, National Conference leader and Jammu and Kashmir CM designate Omar Abdullah said that even Congress would be disappointed with its performance. "The Congress is going to be disappointed with its own performance. So, I don't really need to heap insult on injury. Haryana was a huge shock. All credit to the BJP that they pulled this one out of nowhere. I am sure, the Congress is going to sit back and analyze what went wrong and try to put into place corrective measures in time for Maharashtra and Jharkhand elections," Abdullah told India Today.

Shiv Sena-UBT Slams Congress

An editorial in Shiv Sena's mouthpiece *Saamana* criticized the Congress for its failure to accommodate alliance partners, such as the AAP, and for not addressing the 'disobedience of local leaders.' The piece also expressed frustration over Congress' tendency to "turn a winning inning into a defeat." 

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi called for an introspection from the Congress after a poor performance in the Haryana elections and said that the party needs to reflect on its strategy because it tends to weaken when faced with a direct fight with the BJP. Sanjay Raut even said that had the 'overconfident' Congress accommodated Samajwadi Party and AAP, the result would have been different. 

Such was the impact of the Congress party's Haryana loss, the Samajwadi Party went ahead with its bypoll list and declared the first list of six candidates for the 10 poll-bound seats. The Congress is at loggerheads with the SP over seat-sharing for the bypolls.

On the other hand, Congress leader and party's Maharashtra chief said that the political landscapes of Haryana and Maharashtra are different. He said that Congress will perform better in Maharashtra.

Haryana Election Results

BJP won 48 out of 90 seats in the Haryana assembly while Congress managed to win 37 seats. Independents won 3 seats and Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) secured 2 seats, according to Election Commission data.