Why Congress is unwilling to 'share' with INDIA bloc allies during ongoing polls

New Delhi: The ongoing campaigning and seat distribution for the ongoing Assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram, Telangana and Rajasthan has revealed a stark reality in the opposition camp. There is no discussion anywhere on the much-anticipated and talked about INDIA alliance.  

Over the past few weeks, the priority has changed for the Congress leadership. With several surveys predicting a good chance of victory in the assembly elections for the grand old party, the Congress leadership is no longer talking about the INDIA bloc.

During the ongoing electoral process for the state Assemblies, there has been a lack of proper coordination between allies of the opposition INDIA bloc. There has also not been any proper seat-sharing arrangement or any kind of ideological interaction with the leaders of these allies, sources pointed out.

All this is unravelling as the Congress leadership, riding on the back of its recent victory in Karnataka, apparently wants to ensure that it single-handedly picks up the most number of seats in the ongoing polls. This would help ensure that the grand old party will be in a much better position to negotiate with its allies for seat sharing in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, sources said.

It must be noted that the Rashtriya Lok Dal, which was expecting four to five seats from Congress in Rajasthan, has been allocated only one seat. RLD leaders believe that on this unexpected behaviour by the Congress leadership, RLD chief Jayant Chaudhary may not have openly come out against the grand old party. However, he has taken note of the political moves by the Congress leadership in the assembly polls. The impact of the move is likely to be visible on the party’s strategy for the Lok Sabha elections next year, sources added.

Similarly, Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party is fighting on a few seats across MP, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh after a lot of back and forth on whether to announce candidates in these states or not.

Days ago, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav had vehemently taken on the Congress leadership over its “betrayal”. On the day Rahul Gandhi visited Kedarnath, the Samajwadi Party Chief denounced the grand old party.

"Do not vote for Congress, they're masters in betraying. If they can betray us, what makes you (common people) think that they won't betray you?” said the INDIA bloc leader Yadav.

Taking a swipe at Rahul Gandhi's comment that the caste census would be like an "X-ray" that would give details of various communities in the country, Yadav during a rally at Katni in Madhya Pradesh on Monday sarcastically asked "why X-ray when there is availability of new technology like MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) and CT (computed tomography) scan".

"The biggest miracle is the Congress is also talking about caste census. Those who are talking about X-rays are the same people who stopped the caste census after Independence," Yadav said.

"The castes can be counted in three months. All the data is available. All are having Aadhaar cards. Why will it take time," he asked.

It is understood that the statement came even as the talks between the two parties broke down over possible seat sharing in Madhya Pradesh and SP decided to field its candidates in the crucial polls, sources said.  

It is understood that the SP leadership is extremely peeved with the grand old party’s inability in reaching to a seat-sharing agreement and trying to sideline regional players. The Congress’ pandering to majoritarian sentiments over the past few days has also been pointed out by the SP in its interactions with the senior ally’s leadership, sources said. In case of a close contest in Madhya Pradesh, the role of any elected SP legislator will become immensely important, sources pointed out.

Unless the Congress gives clarity to its INDIA bloc allies on its latest political strategy against the BJP and is more willing to accommodate them in each electoral battle, the road for the grand old party is expected to be very difficult for the 2024 electoral war.

The question is, if these regional players also start being non-accommodative during seat sharing for the general elections next year, will the Congress leadership be able to even retain the 50-odd seats it secured in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls?