After impressive performance, Congress has its task cut out

By winning 18 out of the 25 seats it had contested in the Assembly election, a 72% conversion rate, the Congress has ended up as the party with the best strike rate. The strike rate of its senior part

By winning 18 out of the 25 seats it had contested in the Assembly election, a 72% conversion rate, the Congress has ended up as the party with the best strike rate. The strike rate of its senior partner DMK was 70.75%. The Congress can feel encouraged from this victory as it was blamed for a poor strike rate in the past elections, but the road ahead is long. There is a feeling in sections of the party that it cannot remain a junior partner forever, when even the BJP is aggressively pushing for expansion in Tamil Nadu. In 2006, when the Congress won 34 out of 48 seats, it failed to capitalise on its performance to help grow the organisation. For all the talk of ‘bringing back Kamaraj rule’ in Tamil Nadu, the factionalism and infighting has dented its prospects over the years.