To keep the Opposition flock together, top placed Congress sources have indicated that the party does not have a problem with a candidate from any other party, as long as the candidate is not backed by the RSS.
To keep the Opposition flock together, top placed Congress sources have indicated that the party does not have a problem with a candidate from any other party, as long as the candidate is not backed by the RSS.
The development comes in the wake of regional leaders Tejaswi Yadav and Mayawati raising questions on Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s leadership who was declared as party’s prime ministerial candidate for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections at the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting on Sunday.
On Tuesday, the party’s closest ally, the RJD raised questions with its leader Tejashwi Yadav saying that Gandhi was not the only leader from the opposition in the race the top post. “All the opposition parties will sit together to decide the name of the Prime Ministerial candidate. Rahul Gandhi is not the only leader in the race for it,” the former Bihar deputy chief minister said in Patna.
On the same day, BSP Supremo Mayawati announced that an alliance with Congress in UP was possible only if Congress concedes a respectable numbers of seats to her party in the forthcoming Assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan. The UP which sends most number of MPs is crucial for Gandhi’s prime ministerial ambitions. A similar rider has been set by the Samajwadi Party (SP) which also demands share of seats in these three states.
Mayawati said that a few Congress leaders, who are not in favour of an alliance between the parties, have launched a misinformation campaign. “I would like to make it clear (to the Congress) that though BSP is open to alliance but is also ready to contest alone on all seats in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan,” she said.
Sources in the Congress party said that the leadership looks at the respective performances of parties in the Lok Sabha elections in Bihar and UP as crucial. Leaders in the party feel that the key to defeat the Modi government will be alliances in the two states. With solid alliances in both states in the Opposition camp, the party feels, Modi will stop shy of 220-240 seats. This in turn will ensure that parties from the NDA might not be keen to ally with the BJP.
The indication from the party will be crucial, as the move to declare Gandhi an aspirant for the top post had also led to an unease between the allies to bargain hard, seeking their share of seats in the States, where the Congress have minimal political influence.
Known for her tough bargain, the BSP chief has already made SP Chief Akhilesh Yadav agree to her party contesting more seats in 2019 Lok Sabha polls despite failing to win a single seat in 2014.
Tejaswi, too, has made it clear that Congress alone cannot decide on the PM candidate. "There are other opposition leaders like (West Bengal Chief Minister) Mamata Banerjee, (Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister) Chandrababu Naidu, (NCP chief) Sharad Pawar and (BSP leader) Mayawati," he said.
But he made it clear that his party would support anyone who is named the prime ministerial candidate by a united opposition. "Our main concern is that opposition parties will name a leader who will save the Constitution. Rahul Gandhi may be that leader. Rahul Gandhi has to unite all non-BJP parties for a strong grand alliance," he added.
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