The party's performance has been directly affected by the discord in the congress in Punjab. The ouster of Captain amarinder singh and then the altercation between Channi and Sidhu led the congress to its worst performance since 1997. Such a performance of the party did not last even after the Emergency and the 1984 riots.

The worst news for congress in the election results of five states came from Punjab. According to the trends so far, congress seems to be getting less than 20 seats in Punjab. punjab was one of the strongholds that the congress retained amid the bjp wave across the country after narendra modi became the Prime minister, but the congress seems to be at a clear disadvantage here due to the separation of Captain Amarinder Singh. 

 If the final results remain according to the trends that have come out so far, then the performance of the congress here will be worse than the assembly elections held after the Emergency in 1977. Then the congress had managed to win 17 seats. At the same time, after the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, when the state assembly elections were held in 1985, congress had won 32 seats. Its performance was worst in 1997, when the party won 14 seats.

1. Under what circumstances were the elections held in 1977, what were the results?

In 1975, the indira gandhi government at the Center declared a nationwide emergency. The period of this emergency lasted for two years in the country. By the time the Emergency was declared in 1977, the image of the congress had become negative throughout the country. 

The effect of this was that since the lok sabha elections held in 1977, the performance of the congress was the worst in the assembly elections of all the states. Out of 117 seats in punjab, congress got only 17 seats, whereas in 1972, congress had won 66 seats with a strong performance. Within a span of five years, Akali Dal's position was strengthened and it had increased its seats from 24 to 58 seats.

2. Under what circumstances were the elections held in 1985, what were the results?

Despite Akali Dal's excellent performance in the 1977 punjab assembly elections, chief minister Parkash Singh Badal could not run the government for a full five years and punjab saw elections again in 1980. In these elections, congress won 63 seats and won power in the 8th Legislative Assembly. The Akali Dal was then confined to 37 seats. 

However, for the first time in punjab, the voice of separatism started rising during the congress era. The death of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale in the first Operation Blue Star in 1984 and the subsequent Sikh riots caused a great loss to Congress. In the 1985 assembly elections, the party was reduced to 31 seats.

3. Under what circumstances did the votes fall in 1997, what happened to Congress?

The most difficult time for the politics of punjab was the period of 1980-90. President's rule was imposed from 1987 to 1992 due to increasing cases of terrorism in Punjab. In the elections held in 1992, only 20 percent voting took place in the entire state and congress formed the government with an absolute majority, winning 87 seats.

In these elections, Akali Dal got only two seats and no other party could touch the double figure. But soon the congress government was accused of massive repression and human rights violations in the name of ending terrorism spread in Punjab. This directly benefited the Akali Dal, which forged an alliance with the BJP. 

Both the parties got a total of 92 seats (75 of Akali Dal + 18 of BJP) in the assembly. At the same time, congress was reduced to its worst performance i.e. 14 seats.

4. What happened before the election this time?

In the 2017 elections in punjab, the people again handed over power to the congress after 10 years. Out of 117 seats, the party got 77 seats, while its closest rival aam aadmi party got only 20 seats. However, exactly five years later the figures are quite the opposite. While the aam aadmi party has touched the 90-seat mark in the trends at this time, the congress is on its way to repeat its poor performance even 25 years ago.

5. Now how many states will be left with Congress?

If congress loses punjab, it will be left with only two states- chhattisgarh and Rajasthan. In four more states, coalitions with its support are in government. These include Maharashtra, jharkhand and tamil Nadu. Apart from this, out of the four other states where elections are being held, in Manipur, goa and Uttarakhand, the congress is not showing any significant advantage.