Congress should protect its interests

Regional parties such as the Trinamool Congress and the Samajwadi Party have openly declared their support for their I.N.D.I.A bloc ally, the Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi, preferring it over the Congress, which is also contesting the Assembly polls in the national capital. Their logic is that any of the partners who was in a better position to humble the BJP should be supported in order to achieve the common objective of keeping the Saffron Brigade out.

However, it needs to be asked why this rationale was ignored when the AAP decided to put up nominees in the Haryana elections, knowing fully well that they had no chance of winning. Instead, their presence harmed the Congress, and in the end, assisted the BJP in retaining power.

Similar things happened both in Goa and in Gujarat, and the AAP ended up playing a spoiler for the Congress, which has been going out of the way to accommodate some of its alliance buddies in various elections. It needs to be asked why Akhilesh Yadav sought seats in Madhya Pradesh when the Congress was a stronger party there.

The Nationalist Congress Party (Shard Pawar) and the National Conference have also been making statements that are not consistent with the spirit behind the formation of the I.N.D.I.A bloc. Many in the political circles believe that these two outfits can switch sides, and shall have no qualms of doing business with the BJP, if there was such a necessity. It is not a mere coincidence that the views expressed by both Supriya Sule and Omar Abdullah on EVMs are virtually identical.

Lalu Prasad Yadav too is playing a dual game and is exploring the opportunity of looking towards fresh alignments in Bihar. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who is with the BJP at this juncture is capable of taking yet another about turn closer to the elections, since it is a question of the survival of the Janata Dal (United) as also his own.

The short point is that all the I.N.D.I.A bloc allies fear the Congress more than they fear the BJP. Their belief is that if the Congress gets stronger, it would be at their cost. Therefore, the common intent is to keep the Congress weak. Nitish too also knows that his party may be decimated by his alliance with the BJP and has watched with keen interest how several regional parties were truncated during the Parliamentary polls after they aligned with the BJP.

The examples of the Biju Janata Dal in Odisha, the Bharatiya Rashtra Samithi in Telangana, the YSR Congress in Andhra Pradesh, the Jannayak Janata Party in Haryana and the Akali Dal in Punjab are there for everyone to see. All of them suffered because of their association with the BJP.

The point is that regional parties are wary of the national parties and realize that if they were to survive, they must ensure that neither the BJP nor the Congress, ever get to dominate the political scenario in totality. It is totally another matter that the national parties view the states differently than the way the regional outfits see things, and the perspectives are many a times, poles apart.

The question of One Nation, One Poll would suit both the BJP and the Congress, though the grand old party has taken a stand which is consistent with that of its allies so far. This concept, which looks virtually impossible to implement at this time, would lead to a two-party system at the national level and thus lead to the decimation of the regional parties.
The supreme irony is that almost all the regional parties which are a part of the I.N.D.I.A bloc have in some manner done business with the saffron brigade in the past. The Abdullahs and Mamata Banerjee were a part of the NDA. The SP thrived because of multiple reasons, its understanding with the BJP on some limited objectives was well known, though never acknowledged publicly.

The good showing of the SP in the Lok Sabha elections last year was also on account of its alliance with the Congress, which may not have its own organizational structure intact, but did become the preferred party of the minorities. The National Conference is also in power in Kashmir because the Congress played a major factor in the victory.

The question that arises is that should the Congress go all out against the AAP in the capital or allow Arvind Kejriwal to run the roller over its prospects for all times to come. The party leadership must realize that in order to make a comeback in Delhi, it should ensure that its I.N.D.I.A bloc ally is brought to its knees. This is where the BJP and the Congress may share a common objective, but the Congress high command has to take a call on this.

Over the years, the Congress has lost its influence because its leadership failed to strengthen the organization and also involve the workers in day-to-day programs. The latest instance was the inauguration of the Indira Bhawan in the city, which was an exclusive affair, and despite the polls being held, the workers were not invited for the occasion for reasons best known to the leadership.

The AAP is for the first time appearing vulnerable, but does enjoy the advantage despite its current state. The issue is whether the Congress shall be able to take advantage of the situation to send a clear message to its allies. Between us.