Is Congress still considered a big national party while contesting around 300 seats in 2024 LS polls?

Yes, Congress is still a big national party. The following parties are listed as national parties in India

1 . BJP Bharatiya Janata Party 2 . BSP Bahujan Samaj Party 3. CPM Communist Party of India (Marxist) 4. INC Indian National Congress 5. AITC All India Trinamool Congress. 6. AAP Aam Admi Party and 7. NPP National People's Party.

You can decide for yourself which among these parties can replace Congress as 2nd biggest national party in India. Congress won 19.49% vote share in the 2019 general election to become the 2nd largest national party both in terms of vote share and number of seats. Yes, it may not have done justice to its stature. But that doesn’t change the fact it is still the 2nd largest party. The 3rd biggest party in terms of vote share is Trinamool Congress securing 4.06% vote share. Bahujan Samaj Party is the 4th with 3.62% vote share. AAP secured a paltry 0.44% vote share. Another national party CPI(M) got a 1.77% vote share.

So whether you like it or not, I do not see any other party to dislodge Congress from the 2nd position. Contesting less than 300 seats in the 2024 LS polls shouldn’t be an issue. Congress is likely to fight around 330 seats in the 2024 elections. Though I am not sure about the actual count. That's a significant drop from 2004 when it had contested 417 seats. The drop in the number of seats Congress is contesting is predominantly to accommodate the INDIA block partners. This could lead to a drop in Congress’s overall vote share. However, I believe strike rate is more important than the vote share. Secondly, it will help Congress to focus on those seats in a better way. It will also help in better utilization of limited resources rather than spreading it all across. Unlike the BJP, Congress has a very very limited resource pull. so any way it is getting restricted.