NEW DELHI: The challenging battles of Maharashtra and Haryana, to be followed by Jharkhand, mark an existential crisis for Congress. Close on the heels of a wipeout in Lok Sabha polls, a negative outcome in state polls would further deepen the despair among Congress workers.Thrust into leadership position yet again at this critical moment, ironically by her own son Rahul Gandhi ’s resignation, Sonia Gandhi realises it is an emergency. She did manage to turn it around for Congress when she first took the political plunge during the saffron wave of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, but 2019 may prove very different.The state polls come at a time when Congress and the country are overwhelmed by the victory of Narendra Modi-led BJP in Lok Sabha polls, that is dictating the popular sentiment.However, Congress had not done itself any favour with a protracted period of inertia in the two poll-bound states, or with the leadership crisis post-LS polls which has only exacerbated the sense of desolation within.Sonia’s surprise return, owing to the party’s failure to find a replacement to Rahul Gandhi, has managed to infuse some action. The rejig in Haryana unit has helped paper over the dissent emanating from the Hooda household. Maharashtra unit too has accelerated activities.But this minor momentum, badly delayed, is up against the big picture that is disheartening for Congress cadres. The Modi-dominated polarised polity and the debate on nationalism triggered by the abrogation of Article 370 , coupled with corruption cases against big Congress leaders, appears to be weighing heavily on the Congress bid to pit economic slowdown as the principal poll plank against the BJP.While slowdown is a reality as is the issue of jobs, the political pitch of the saffron communication machine appears to be carrying the day. Many Congressmen drove home the handicap during a recent brainstorming between the AICC and the state units.What more can the ageing matriarch do in these trying times?Congress managers are reconciled to a bad performance in state polls, which include Jharkhand and Delhi to follow. The post-assembly poll phase could prove a more testing time for Sonia Gandhi as it would further raise questions about the viability of Congress as also other “secular” parties in the times of growing BJP hegemony propelled by Modi.Though picked as a stopgap arrangement, would Congress be able to find a new full-time leader to replace Sonia Gandhi?Or, she may just be forced to carry on in her second avatar as Congress chief for a longer duration. It would only prolong the agony of the leader who once extricated the Congress and is strongly motivated by sense of family duty to preserve a political legacy.