A congress of shaky alliances
Unlike the BJP, the opposition still lacks a viable coalition
One need not be partisan to either side in India’s political theatre to see the obvious contrast in how the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the opposition Congress are managing their campaigns. The BJP has its leadership, campaign, organisational machine, and most significantly, a range of alliances across key states in place. These alliances – particularly in
Bihar, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu – came at the cost of its own ambitions of growth, but it stooped for the overall objective of returning to power. But three weeks to go before the first phase of the polls, the Congress appears to be struggling on a range of fronts. This is most stark in its failure to stitch up alliances.
In Uttar Pradesh, the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) were clear they would not give the Congress more than what the two regional parties saw as its rightful share. SP leader Akhilesh Yadav regretted giving 100 seats to the Congress in the last assembly polls; BSP’S Mayawati did not want the Congress to revive and capture Dalit base riding on the back of the alliance. For its part, the Congress wanted to punch above its weight and felt that not contesting on a majority of seats would impede its long-term revival. In Bihar too, the Congress is punching way above its weight, seeking more seats than the Rashtriya Janata Dal is willing to give. In Delhi, the Aam Aadmi Party has been keen on an alliance with the Congress. Arithmetic suggests that together, the two forces can put up a formidable challenge to the BJP. But the Congress has been immersed in a prolonged, internal debate on whether to ally with the force it blames for discrediting the UPA-2. In Bengal, after prolonged talks with the Left, the Congress has decided to go alone.
Unlike the BJP, where the organisational machine often propels a candidate’s campaign, in the Congress, the candidate is all-important. And with three weeks to go, the party’s candidates and supporters in key states do not know whether there will be an alliance; which seats the Congress would contest on; and who would be the candidates. The party leadership must be more proactive, be decisive, and enter the electoral battlefield for 2019 to be a true contest.