Congress election strategist Prashant Kishor’s desperation for an alliance in Uttar Pradesh is worsening and in the last one week he has, in information available exclusively to this newspaper, held two meetings with the Congress’ top leadership and apprised them of the ground situation where the momentum is building up for the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Prashant Kishor is “scared that the BJP can gain in UP”, a source told The Sunday Guardian. The source said that Kishor met Ghulam Nabi Azad and Sheila Dikshit in UP recently and explained in detail that there was not much hope for the party unless it allied with either the Samajwadi Party or the Bahajun Samaj Party. Kishor is learnt to have advised the party leaders to be more flexible while bargaining for an alliance. Azad was in UP on 11 November to attend Maulana Abul Kalam Azad’s birth anniversary celebrations.
Kishor further told Azad and Dikshit, the Congress’ campaign in-charge and chief ministerial face in the state, respectively, that the surgical strike conducted by the Centre on Pakistan followed by the demonetisation drive to weed out black money have neutralised whatever buzz party vice president Rahul Gandhi had created in favour of the Congress with his month-long Kisan Yatra that concluded on 6 October.
The BJP is on a strong footing with its recent initiatives and the party’s Parivartan Yatra in the poll bound state is cashing in on the “pro-nationalist” sentiment, Kishor has told Azad and Dikshit, while underlining that an alliance is imperative.
Following the UP meeting, Kishor met Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi, the source further revealed. “PK met Rahul Gandhi and told him that there was no way out for the Congress without an alliance. Talks are going on… Talks are also going on with Sharad Yadav and Lalu Yadav, who are supportive of Akhilesh Yadav,” the source said.
When asked about reports that PK may be pushing for an alliance on his own initiative, the source said Azad, who is overseeing the campaign in UP, is keen for an alliance and on Azad’s insistence, Rahul Gnadhi too agreed for the same though he wanted to go solo initially. “Rahul was against any alliance previously… because he got a good response at the grassroots level during his Yatra… He wanted to solidify the party at the ground even if it meant no immediate seats’ gain. But PK and Azad convinced him for an alliance,” the source said.
When reminded about Mulayam Singh Yadav’s snub to possible coalition partners, including the Congress, the source said “We are not seriously considering Mulayam Singh’s stance”. “Statements like these keep happening. But the fact is back-channel talks are going on. People are in touch with Akhilesh Yadav also,” the source claimed, alluding that the veteran SP leader may have deliberately issued the statement to secure an upper hand in future bargains with likely allies. Mulayam Singh Yadav had scotched rumours of an alliance on 10 November, saying there would not be any pre-poll tie up.
According to the source: “Congress is desperate for an alliance in UP. The Congress cadre also wants an alliance because if the anti-BJP votes, in particular the Muslim votes, get divided between three parties—Congress, SP and BSP—the BJP will have a good chance of winning the elections.”
The Congress, in the aftermath of Mulayam’s snub, is also deliberating on a strategy to woo the BSP. Prashant Kishor, the source said, has asked the top leaders to go soft on the BSP. “This is why Azad was soft on BSP in Parliament. He also endorsed Mayawati’s speech. The Congress wants to send out a message to the SP that it has more options, although the incumbent party in the state still remains its preferred choice for an alliance,” the source pointed out.