In an attempt to keep it free from the clutches of its existing allies, the Congress has decided to contest the Lok Sabha elections at the national level ‘alone’, the party will limit its alliances to the state level, and the seat sharing will differ from state to state.
‘The Congress will not go for pre-poll alliances for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections at the national level. We do not have an alliance at the national level. We have alliance partners and seat-sharing adjustments at the state level will continue,’ said Congress spokesperson Janardan Dwivedi after a meeting of the Congress Working Committee at New Delhi Thursday.
“Alliance is basically a game of numbers. It depends on who gets how many seats. This will be clear only after the elections,” he clarified.
The decision is believed to have taken in the wake of growing pressure from its regional allies, particularly Pawar’s NCP, Paswan’s LJP, and Mulayam’s SP, making demand on Congress for seat-sharing adjustments at the national level. Also the Congress felt if it gets an absolute majority the situation will be different, or the assessment is the 2009 election’s outcome might place Congress at a better position to bargain and negotiate with current and potential allies than the May 2004 when Congress was comparatively weak.
Moreover, the ground reality in different states has changed drastically in recent times. For instance, in Uttar Pradesh there was some concern over Kalyan Singh’s entry into the Samajwadi Party. The fear was Kalyan Singh’s entry into secular tent might offend the minority community, as it was Singh during whose regime the Babri Masjid was demolished. The other thought, however, was since Kalyan Singh has entered the anti-BJP side through the SP route; Congress would be insulated from Muslim backlash. This apart, seat-sharing with SP in UP was proving quite gruelling for the party. However, no decision has been taken yet, the final call will be taken by the Congress president Sonia Gandhi later.
Regarding Bihar, a section of participants in the meeting expressed doubt that its dominant partner in the state, RJD, might not be able to repeat its 2004 magic as the ruling NDA government led by JD-U leader Nitish Kumar could spoil the UPA’s electoral prospects.
The situation in Tamil Nadu was not very different. The constant bickering in the DMK-led alliance and chances of political realignment could ruin the Congress’ political ambition in the state.
Rahul Gandhi reportedly said at the meeting that there should be different yardsticks for alliances in different states depending on the strength of the Congress in these states. He also pitched for 30 per cent reservation for the youths in the Lok Sabha polls.
Congress leaders also did not deny the possibility of entering into fresh alliance in the states where the party was already in alliance, besides the party should seek fresh term of engagement with its existing allies.
The meeting also attended by senior ministers Pranab Mukherjee, A.K. Antony and Arjun Singh decided that while the UPA would continue as a notional entity, there will be no pre-poll manifesto, statement of intent or a common minimum programme.
“What is wrong in it? Every party cannot have the same manifesto. We have a CMP after the polls,” remarked Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, RJD Vice-President.
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