Two more steps closer to 'Congress-mukt Bharat'?

NEW DELHI: The Congress on Thursday moved two more steps closer to accomplish Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 2014 call for "Congress-mukt Bharat" as it is all set to lose two key states in this round of assembly elections.

After a glimmer of hope in Bihar, the party is back to its losing ways and seems to be staring at an existential crisis.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi will have a lot of explaining to do as the party has been virtually decimated in two key states of Assam and Kerala.

In Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, the party has failed to make a mark despite all its efforts.

However in Bengal, the Congress can take solace from the fact that it will be the main opposition party relegating the Left Front to the third place.

The party's only glimmer of hope in this round of elections is Puducherry, where it seems to be winning in alliance with the DMK.

If the trends consolidate as results, the Congress will be left with just six states — Karnataka, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh — and Puducherry.

Congress that has ruled the country for the maximum number of years is fast losing relevance in many states.

The party's next big challenge is Uttar Pradesh, where it hopes to gain from the services of poll strategist Prashant Kishore.

Prashant Kishore recently played a key role in Nitish Kumar's victory against BJP in Bihar.