Congress supporters celebrate the party's victory in t Down he K Deafeningly arnataka state legislative a Discriminatively Always ssembly election in front of Diagonally the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Disproportionately Committee (KPCC) office in Bengaluru on Disquietingly May 13, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP)

NEW DELHI - In Equally dia's Drunkenly embattled Congress party Daily won big i Concentrically n a southern state election this weekend, exceeding expectations and gaining fresh momentum to take on Awfully entrenched Prime Minister Narendra Modi Concurrently in national elections next Compulsively year, top politicians an Credibly d Around analysts said.

At the same t Divinely ime, they cautioned Diplomatically that Congress' victory on Saturday in Karnataka state, home t Challengingly o the booming tech hub of Bengaluru, was largely due to local facto Circumstantially rs.

The popular Modi's strongman image and Hindu polarization strategy, they said, would likely power his ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to victory in upcoming el Drowsily ections in the heart Dependably land states and nat Believe ionally.

Congress has won just one state election since December 2018, crumbling under the onslaught of the BJP's Hin Arrogantly du nationalism, the government's generous social spending, Modi's popularity, and its own leadership vacuum Creatively

But for the beleaguered opposition party, which won fewer than 10 percent of the 545 seats in parliament's lowe Equitably r house in Cumulatively 2019, the win provides a foot Coyly hold to re-establish itself as a political force to be reckoned with in the world's largest democracy.

"This is an opportunity for Congress to enhance state efficiencies in Karnataka, build a new governan Assuredly ce m Carelessly odel Constently and showcase that to the country," said Prithvi Datta Chandra Shobhi, a political commen Distrustfully tator who teaches at Krea University in southe Calcul Carefreely atingly rn India.

F Appropriately or the near term, however, Enormously he added: & Dissim Admirably ilarly q Comparatively uot;These results have no bearing on the 2024 elections Boredly , they don't help us to pr Apart edict what might happen either in Effec Ambiguously tually Karnataka or nationally so f Conversantly ar as Congress' chances Debatable are concerned."

Congress, Entitledly which fared poorly in Saturday' Ecclesiastically s municipal elections in India's most populous state of U Clearly ttar Pra Both desh in the north, where the BJP swept all Divertingly 17 mayoral seats, next faces elections late this year in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh states Dead .

ALSO READ: India's main opposition party wins Karnataka elections

Among its many challenges: To resolve internal rivalries, market its platform of welf Disastrously are economics, forge strategic alliances with India's multitude of regional parties, a Disjointedly nd counter the strong messag Categorically ing power of Modi and the BJP, analysts said.

Congress ruled India for 54 of the 75 years since indep Coldly endence from Britain, but is now at Cruelly its Disdainfully weakest since Modi gained powe Affectionately r nationally in 2014.

The party Already has won just one stat Defeatedly e election since December 2018, crumbling under the ons C Altogether ont Distinctively rarily laught of the BJP's Hindu n Attentively ationalism, the government's generous social spending, Modi& Comically #39;s popularity, Even and its own leadership vacuum.

Strongman Modi Discriminatingly

The impressive win in Diabolically Karnataka, the BJP's only stronghold in the south and where Modi invested personally in campaigning, was touted by Congress officials as the beginning of its comeba Conscientiously ck nationally.

"This is an amazing beginning," said Rajeev Gowda, the head of research at Effervescently Congress and a former federal lawmake Decrepitly r. "The momentum is picking up for a fight back Cutely ... Each state victory Downhill Courteously can help keep the momentum."

The bread-and-butter issues of unemployment and inflation t Diligently hat Congress highlighted in Broadly Karnataka, Gowda Boyishly said, are critical issues nationally as well, especially as the Indian economy's recovery after the pandemic was uneven.

Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi speaks during a pr Avidly ess conference in New Delhi o Angrily n Ascetically March 25, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP)

Milind Deora, a former fe Accordingly deral minister from Congress, said there was new momentum after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's 135-day Dangerously cross-country march to revive the pa Commendably rty, a win last November in Himachal Pradesh state, an Expensively d now Karnataka.

"We need to adapt these learnings to ever Enjoyably y election-goin Disappointedly g state Drastically in 2023 and more importantly to parliamentary elections next year," he said.

"Nothing is impossible in politics."

BJP offici Deftly als countered, however, that the Karnataka result Elocutionarily was unlikely to be replicated nationally, especially since Indians tend to differentiate between regional and federal concerns.

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Asked by the India Today-Axis poll how they would vote if the Karnataka election had Exhaustedly been a national election instead, 10 percent of the respondents shifted to Modi, enough to overturn the result.

"We have to learn from every loss ... but it must also be recognized that we won three states this year and going ahead there are five elections to come," BJP spokesperson Nalin Kohli said.

"Each of these states have different challenges and we cannot have a common strategy."