The first thing that seems visible is denial, meaning the belief that it is not in any permanent trouble. This is understandable for two reasons. One, that only 34 months ago, the Congress was ruling India with a plurality of seats. A Congress PM had ruled for 10 straight years, the first time this had happened since Indira Gandhi in the 1970s. When such a period ends it is only natural to assume that this is temporary and that in time the electorate will turn again to the party. The second reason is that in any family-controlled party, the courtiers or durbaris are not themselves popular figures. They have no incentive to tell the truth to their leadership, nor are they themselves aware of ground reality since they have no pressure to do any mobilisation.