Aim was to control narrative, not seat

If Congress never really wanted to contest the Baramati byelection why create so much noise before stepping back Because this was never confusion it was strategyBaramati is not just any seat It is a stronghold of the Pawar family Everyone knows how elections here usually go Congress knew this too Winning was never the real aim So what wasThe focus was not on votes or candidates It was on one issue the Maharashtra governmentrsquos refusal to file an FIR in connection with Ajit Pawarrsquos death That is the real story In Baramati the missing FIR has become a big political issue Congress made sure it stayed that way By saying it would withdraw from the election if an FIR were filed the party linked its presence directly to accountability No matter what happened the issue stayed aliveStep in step out but stay in the headlinesWith this move Congress did two things at once It entered the election discussion and completely changed itNow the election is not about who will win It is about why an FIR has not been filed That is smart politicsWhat makes this more interesting is that Congress was not even in line with its allies Shiv Sena UBT and Sharad Pawarrsquos Nationalist Congress Party faction chose to stay away following the tradition of not contesting bypolls after a death Congress chose a different path It stepped in knowing it would step out laterThis was not about respecting tradition It was about using the momentBy doing this Congress kept the spotlight on the FIR issue and put pressure on the BJP But while Congress looked confident from the outside it also showed internal cracks Some leaders felt the party should not contest the election while the state leadership wanted to go ahead This showed that even within Congress there were different opinionsAt the same time this strategy put Ajit Pawarrsquos own family in a difficult position By strongly demanding an FIR Congress created a contrast The Opposition seemed more vocal about accountability than the leaderrsquos own allies It raised a simple question if even rivals are asking questions why is there silence withinAsking for an FIR sounds simple and fair No government can openly oppose it But it creates pressure If the government agrees it looks like it has given in If it does not it looks careless Either way the Opposition controls the narrativeCongress added to this by pointing to Karnataka where an FIR had reportedly been filed Whether both cases are exactly the same does not matter The comparison itself creates doubtIt has also been over a month since the BJPrsquos ally Ajit Pawarrsquos NCP demanded a CBI probe into the plane crash Yet no decision has been taken This delay raises questions about intent and urgencyThe government has called the Karnataka FIR illegal and politically motivated But by then the damage was already doneA legal issue had turned into a political issue And this is where Congress benefits If an FIR is filed it takes credit If not it keeps attackingEither way it does not need to win Baramati to come out aheadFor the government the real problem is perception Even if there are valid reasons for delay silence creates doubt And in politics doubt spreads faster than factsCongress understood this well Voters may not know every legal detail but they understand delay silence and hesitation This creates a gap in trust By focusing on the missing FIR again and again Congress made sure people kept noticing this gapBaramati shows how quickly politics can change Something like a missing FIR which would normally stay within files has become the centre of an electionThis is how politics works today It is not just about rallies or candidates It is about finding one strong issue and building everything around itCongress did not need to win the election It only needed to control the story and it didBaramati is not just a byelection It is a lesson in modern politics Because sometimes the real contest is not on the ballot It is in the story people choose to believeSanjeev Shivadekar is political editor midday He tweets SanjeevShivadekSend your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomThe views expressed in this column are the individualrsquos and donrsquot represent those of the paper