Congress to build another round of ‘Constitution khatre mein hai’ narrative to take on BJP?

There is one narrative that worked widely for the Opposition during the Lok Sabha elections, and it is something almost every Opposition politician points to. It was how the Opposition pushed the argument that the BJP would demolish the Constitution if it came to power with a special majority. This reportedly alarmed Dalits, who moved towards the anti-BJP formation. The biggest impact of it was seen in Uttar Pradesh, where the Congress-SP alliance unexpectedly won 43 of the state's 80 seats, reducing the BJP to a number 33 short of a 273 majority in the Lok Sabha.

Dalits constitute around 18 per cent of India's population, and the Congress has been trying to weave together a combination of Dalits, minorities and OBCs. Now, the latest revival of this narrative comes in view of the next round of assembly elections scheduled for 2027, with Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Goa, Gujarat and Manipur up for grabs.

Following the BJP's aggressive posturing of breaking leaders from other parties like the TMC and Shiv Sena (UBT) and stitching these legislators into the NDA fold, the Congress has brought such activities to the fore, portraying them as part of a pursuit of a supermajority that could eventually be used to alter the Constitution.

In an interview with PTI, Congress General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh said, "The single cause for this is the humiliation that the self-styled Chanakya of Indian politics suffered on the 17th of April in the Lok Sabha. He promised the prime minister that he would get the three delimitation bills passed. He could not muster more than 298 votes in the Lok Sabha."

"I think he decided to take revenge on that day for the humiliation he had been forced to suffer, and now he is busy with the 'todh-phod ki rajniti'. He broke the TMC, he is breaking the Shiv Sena, all in his search for a two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha — you are seeing the truth of our 2024 campaign. They were asking for '400 paar' so that they can amend the Constitution to finish off the reservation," the Congress general secretary in-charge of communications said.

"That was the whole logic of '400 paar', and now you are seeing why he is splitting all these parties. He is splitting up parties in his search for a two-thirds majority to amend the Constitution," Ramesh claimed.

According to political analysts, this narrative may have traction in Uttar Pradesh, as the state has around 21 per cent Dalit population, many of whom in 2024 broke away from different parties and voted for the anti-BJP formation of the SP and Congress. The Congress hopes the same could transpire again in the upcoming assembly elections.

The Congress is also focusing on Muslims and Dalits in Uttar Pradesh, for which the party is considering appointing a Dalit state unit president. There have been discussions that the party may replace the current state unit president with a Dalit leader. Since the Congress-SP combine would be able to attract Yadav and Muslim voters (traditional voters of the two parties contesting together), who together constitute around 33 per cent of the electorate in the state. If they can also gain the support of 21 per cent Dalits in Uttar Pradesh, especially as the decline of Mayawati has left a void in Dalit leadership, the alliance would be looking at a comfortable win.