The Congress’ decision to go alone in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls in the crucial state of Uttar Pradesh and in other states like Delhi may be seen as a fallout of its failure to form a ‘mahagathbandhan’ (grand alliance) for the elections but the move by the Grand Old Party is a part of its strategy to regain lost ground in the states where it has been reduced to being a fringe player over the years.
After Akhilesh Yadav of the Samajwadi party and Mayawati of the Bahujan Samaj Party announced their alliance in Uttar Pradesh for the Lok Sabha polls, excluding the Congress, the party announced its decision to fight the elections alone in the state.
Also, amid talks of a possible alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi in the Lok Sabha elections, the new Delhi Congress chief Sheila Dikshit recently ruled out any tie up with AAP in the national capital.
The move by the Congress may seem one that is likely to benefit the Bharatiya janata Party but sources say that the decision to go alone, especially in the key north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, which alone accounts for 80 seats in the Lok Sabha, and Delhi, which has seven seats, is an attempt by the Congress to regain lost ground in the key states , where it has been reduced to being an ‘also ran’ in the recent past.
With win in the three Hindi heartland states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh galvanising the party cadres, the Congress is now looking to regain its pre-1990s position in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
In fact sources said the party leaders are hopeful of a significant increase in its tally in UP and Delhi if it goes solo in these states.
Sheila Dikshit back at the helm
The party’s intention to go solo in Delhi is clear from the decision of the Congress high command to appoint Dikshit, a three time chief minister , as the chief of the state.
The move to appoint Dikshit , sources said, is seen to art of its strategy to revive itself in Delhi, where it was reduced to a paltry eight seats in the 70 member state assembly in the 2013 assembly elections, which saw it being relegated to the third position , behind the BJP (31 seats) and the Aam Aadmi party (28).
In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, which saw the BJP bag all seven seats in Delhi, the Congress was seen to be at third position, behind the BJP and the AAP.
In the 2015 state assembly polls, the Congress, under the leadership of Ajay Maken, plummeted to an all time low, failing to win any seat in the 70 member assembly with AAP bagging the lion’s share of 67 seats while the BJP managed to win just three seats.
In the 2017 polls to the three municipal corporations, the Congress again came at the third position behind the BJP and AAP.
In the bypolls for the Rajouri garden Assembly seat too, it was relegated to the third position.
In fact, party cadres in the state have been for long demanding that Dikshit be brought at the helm of affairs in Delhi, given her brilliant track record during her 15 year tenure as chief minister of Delhi.
A staunch critic of the ruling AAP in Delhi, Dikshit has ruled out any alliance with it in the Lok Sabha elections. In Uttar Pradesh too, the Congress has announced its intention to contest all the 80 Lok Sabha seats in the state.
Cutting into BJP base
Sources said that the Congress announcement on January 13 that it would fight all 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh is also a part of its long term plan to regain its lost ground in the crucial north Indian state where it has been out of power for the last over two decades.
Sources say that the Congress cadre in the state has been advocating that the party go it alone in the state.
They point out that even in the 2017 assembly polls, the party cadres had been against going for an alliance with the Samajwadi Party, which they felt would harm the party’s prospects. They felt that a tie up with the SP would lead to the core upper caste voter of the Congress turning away from the party. The results of the assembly polls proved the apprehensions right as the Congress was reduced to an abysmally low tally of seven seats in the state assembly.
In fact, political observers say that fighting the election alone would help Congress to position itself as a third alternative for voters who are unlikely to vote for either the BJP or SP-BSP.
Further, observers feel that by going alone in Uttar Pradesh, the Congress would manage to wean away some of the upper caste voter from the BJP, which was unlikely to happen if the party tied up with SP-BSP.
Political observers say that the results of the recent assembly polls for the three Hindi heartland state of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan show that the Congress managed to get support from a large chunk of the upper castes and middle class voters. They feel that a similar thing could happen in Uttar Pradesh if the party decided to go it alone, thus making inroads into the vote share of the BJP. In fact, sources said party is hopeful of winning close to 20 seats in the north Indian state , which would be a significant increase from its tally of just two seats in 2014 Lok Sabha elections. A good show in Uttar Pradesh would galvanise the party’s cadre in the state where it has been out of power for the last over two decades. Besides, a good performance in Uttar Pradesh would also increase its bargaining power with the other opposition party for a possible post-poll alliance after the Lok Sabha elections.
Sources feel that putting up a good show in states like Uttar Pradesh and Delhi in the Lok Sabha elections would strengthen the position of the Congress and bolster its claims for the prime ministerial post as the outcome of the elections in these two states, which account for 87 seats in the Lok Sabha, is likely to play a decisive role in the new Parliament.
(UNI)
