Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Oct 30: After the poll strategist Prashant Kishor, the Congress on Saturday came for another attack, this time from the West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee while the party’s ally in Maharashtra, the Shiv Sena took a different stand holding it to be the ruling partner at the centre after the 2024 Parliamentary elections.
Even as Prashant Kishor, who was believed to be negotiating with Congress for planning its next elections strategy on Thursday regretted Rahul Gandhi’s lack of political understanding, Mamata Banerjee, currently in Goa to prepare for the Assembly elections there, took a pot shot at the Congress claiming that the BJP and the prime minister Narendra Modi was becoming more powerful because of the wrong policies of the Congress.
Slamming the Congress for its failure to recognise the need for the opposition to unite and the importance of regional parties to counter the BJP and strengthen India’s federal structure, Banerjee said actually the Congress was Modi (and the BJP) “more powerful” by acting as the party’s publicist. She attributed her comment to the Congress’ apparent refusal to form an opposition alliance for the Goa elections.
“Modiji is going to be more powerful because of the Congress… because the Congress is the BJP’s TRP (television ratings points). If they (the Congress) cannot take a decision… the country will suffer. Why (should) the country suffer… they have had enough opportunity,” the Trinamool chief said.
In Goa to campaign for the Trinamool – and hold talks with Vijay Sardesai’s Goa Forward Party (formerly an ally of the ruling BJP) – she pointed to the April-May election in Bengal.
The Congress had then turned down a chance to ally with the Trinamool, opting instead to work with the Left and, controversially, the Indian Secular Front. It slumped to defeat at the polls – neither the Left nor the GOP won a single seat. The Trinamool – which claimed a strong win lamented the Congress party’s unwillingness to join hands when the BJP was said to be preparing to storm into Bengal.
“Instead of contesting against the BJP they (the Congress) contested against me in Bengal… the morning shows the day, don’t you think? They contest against me… my party. What do you think… we will give flowers to them?” Ms Banerjee said. The Congress has also turned down an offer to ally with the Goa Forward Party.
On talk of an alliance with the GFP, Ms Banerjee said: “It is their (the Goa Forward Party’s) decision… We want to avoid the division of votes (between their two parties). Regional and local parties can work together and give a good fight to the BJP,” she said. The election to the 40-member Goa Assembly next year will be keenly watched, as much for its outcome as for the continued scrutiny of the Congress’ poor performance at the polls.
After meeting the West Bengal chief minister, Sardesai said, “Mamata Banerjee is a symbol of regional pride and we are also a regional party. Everybody needs to come together. Prashant Kishor has said one in three persons votes for BJP. This means that two don’t. Our endeavour will be to bring those two together.”
In contrast to Banerjee’s criticism of the Congress, Shiv Sena spokesman and party Member of Parliament, Sanjay Raut held that the BJP would be routed in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the Congress would emerge the dominating partner in a coalition government at the centre.
After addressing the JS Karandikar memorial lecture organised by the Pune press club on Saturday, Raut said, “No government can be formed without Congress, which is a major and deeply-rooted party in the country. Congress is the main opposition party too. Others are regional parties.” He said a coalition government with the Congress as a major party will come to power in 2024, when general elections are due, which will end the reign of the incumbent one-party government.
On Prashant Kishor’s reported statement that the BJP will remain in power for many decades, Raut said the BJP would stay in Indian politics but as an opposition party. “BJP claims that it is the world’s biggest party. If the world’s biggest party loses elections they will become an opposition party. For example, in Maharashtra, the BJP is the main opposition party with 105 MLAs”, he said. The BJP’s estranged ally Shiv Sena shares power with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress in Maharashtra.
Meanwhile, the former Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh refuted any “backend talks” with the Congress and reaffirmed his commitment to launch his own political outfit claiming that the time for rapprochement with the Congress was over. The statement was shared by Singh’s media advisor Raveen Thukral. “Reports of backend talks with Congress are incorrect. The time for rapprochement is over. I’m grateful to Sonia Gnadhi ji for her support but will not stay in Congress now,” Thukral tweeted quoting Singh.
Singh added that he would soon hold seat-sharing talks with the BJP. “I will soon launch my own party and will hold talks for seat sharing with BJP, breakaway Akali factions and others for Punjab elections once farmers’ issue is resolved. I want to build strong collective force in interest of Punjab and its farmers,” he said.
Singh added that he would not be aligning with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), but only with breakaway Akali groups.
Speaking about the new party, Singh said: “Lawyers are working on finalising the name (of the new party). Let the Election Commission decide. We have made a request for a symbol and name… We will contest on all 117 seats.”
Fearing a split in votes in the state ahead of the upcoming assembly elections, the newspaper reported Congress insiders as saying that the party didn’t want Singh fielding candidates against Congress nominees as he is likely to attract disgruntled Congress leaders who were denied a ticket and could divide the party’s prospective votes. Captain Singh, while announcing his plans for a new party, had said that many leaders were already in touch with him and that he’d reveal their names at an “opportune moment.”
