Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Apr 11: Dejected over losing its national party status, the Trinamool Congress directed its Rajya Sabha member from Goa Luizinho Faleiro to quit his Upper House seat.
Faleiro on Tuesday submitted his resignation to Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar and soon after also announced his resignation from the TMC, but he said for the time being he would not join any other political party.
Mr. Faleiro had joined the TMC in September 2021 and in a bid boost up his image, the former Goa chief minister was sent to the Rajya Sabha in November 2021 in a by-election from the seat in West Bengal vacated in his favour by Arpita Ghosh whose tenure was due to last till 2026.
Sources in the TMC confirmed that Faleiro was asked to resign by the party. Trinamool Congress leadership was not very pleased by the performance of Faleiro as TMC’s poor performance in Goa in the last Assembly elections contributed in the TMC losing the national party status.
The timing of losing the status was also not very opportune for the TMC and its supremo the West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee. After defeating the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the 2021 Assembly polls in West Bengal, the Trinamool Congress decided to expand its footprints in Goa and north-eastern States. Despite a high decibel campaign the Trinamool Congress drew a blank in the Assembly polls in Goa held in February 2022. The party managed to secure only about 5.2 % votes, less than the minimum six per cent of the valid votes polled required to maintain its national party status. Its loss of the national party status can be attributed to the party’s poor performance in Goa and the north-eastern states.
In the recently held elections to Tripura the Trinamool Congress failed to make any impact while it won five Assembly seats in Meghalaya. Along with nominating Faleiro to Rajya Sabha, the party had nominated Sushmita Dev to Rajya Sabha to bolster its prospects in Tripura. Ms. Dev was earlier with the Congress party. Sources in the Trinamool suggest that the party is seeking legal opinion on the loss of national party status.
The development is seen as a setback to the West Bengal ruling party before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, particularly when its leadership has been projecting the party as a fulcrum to bring all Opposition parties together. Mamata Banerjee had met Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and Janata Dal (Secular) leader HD Kumaraswamy last month.
Faleiro in a press release said he had joined TMC after being “inspired” by Banerjee’s invitation. “I had hoped that with her leadership and personal involvement and with fresh grassroots candidates, Goa would see a new template of grassroot politics which is what the name Trinamool stands for,” he added.
Reacting to the resignation, TMC said, “We wish Mr. Luizinho Faleiro good health, happiness and long life. We sincerely hope that he continues to tirelessly serve the people of Goa and strive towards achieving more progress and advancement of the state. AITC will announce a new candidate for the seat as and when the election is notified.”
Though along with the TMC, the Nationalist Congress Party too have lost the national party status but it may not dent the party’s hold and prestige in its forte in Maharashtra where it supremo Sharad Pawar is acceptable to one and all.
The NCP was formed in 1999. In 2000, it earned national party status conforming to the Election Commission of India (ECI) rules. The ECI revoked the NCP’s national party status on the basis of its election performances in 2014 and 2019 and the party will now have state party status only in Maharashtra and Nagaland.
NCP MP Supriya Sule said, “We accept the Election Commission decision. We will study the EC order and then respond in detail.” In Maharashtra, the NCP’s ability to make or break political alliances and government has remained constant. Under the leadership of Sharad Pawar, 82, the NCP has embarked on unprecedented political experiments.
A senior NCP leader said, “Losing national status is not a good feeling. But that gives us reasons to work harder to regain our lost ground in the 2024 Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. ” The NCP state leaders have set an ambitious target of 100 out of the 288 seats in the 2024 Assembly elections. The party is determined to bring the like-minded Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) to work together under the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) banner.
Irrespective of its numbers elections since 1999, Pawar’s influence at both the Centre and the state has remained undimmed and none of the parties can risk writing the NCP off. Although the Congress and the BJP are the two mainstream political parties with pan-India acceptance, the NCP’s electoral base in Maharashtra has remained loyal when it comes to Assembly polls.
In 1999, the year of its birth, the NCP faced the first Assembly polls and won 58 seats with a 22.60 per cent vote share. The Congress emerged as the largest party with 75 seats and a 27.20 per cent vote share. Shiv Sena won 69 seats (17.33 per cent vote share) and the BJP 56 seats (14.54 per cent vote share).
Five years later, the NCP stumped Congress as the leading party, bagging 71 seats with a vote share of 18.75 per cent. Despite being the leading party, Pawar handed the chief minister post to the Congress. In the bargain, Pawar got important portfolios for his candidates, including home, finance, energy, rural development, and water resources. The Congress-NCP coalition government in Maharashtra lasted from 1999 to 2014.
The 2014 Assembly election was a setback to the Congress and the NCP. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Centre and Devendra Fadnavis in Maharashtra, the BJP emerged as the largest party, winning 122 seats out of 288. The 2014 poll was multi-cornered as all four parties — the Congress, the NCP, the BJP and Shiv Sena — contested separately.
Although the BJP and Shiv Sena were united and formed a coalition government, the seeds of discord were sown. Five years later, in 2019, it manifested with Uddhav Thackeray breaking ties with the BJP, and joining the Congress and the NCP to form the MVA government. Whether the 1999 Congress-NCP coalition or the 2019 Congress-NCP-Shiv Sena coalition, the Pawar factor was integral in evolving the new political permutation and combination in state politics.
With the emergence of the BJP, the NCP’s strength had somewhat reduced. But it has retained its vote share. In 1999, the NCP’s seat tally and vote share were 58 and 22.60 per cent. The corresponding numbers for subsequent polls were: 2004 — 71 (18.75 per cent); 2009 — 62 (16.37 per cent); 2014 — 41 (17.24 per cent); 2019 — 54 (16.71 per cent).
Even during the rule of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government at the Centre, when Pawar was the Union minister for agriculture for two consecutive terms (ten years), the NCP’s strength in Lok Sabha never crossed double digits.
Beyond the electoral arithmetic, what worked in favour of the NCP was the chemistry its leadership shared across parties, leaders and regions. Even at a time when Pawar becomes a rallying force to get opposition together, he has displayed the same ease sitting for discussion with Union Home Minister and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah. Despite political differences, Pawar’s cordial relationship with Modi makes him stand out.
In contrast to the TMC and the NP, the emergence of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as a national party just a decade after its formation was aided ironically by its performance in the 2022 Gujarat election. Finishing third behind the Congress with a tally of just five seats, AAP polled 12.97 per cent votes. This was more than double the required six per cent after it had polled 6.67 in Goa and swept to power in Delhi and Punjab to meet the Election Commission’s benchmark.
A fledgling, 10-year-old AAP’s elevation coincided with the eclipse of the 1925-born vintage Communist Party of India (CPI), which lost its national party status and was derecognised as state party in West Bengal and Odisha while remaining a state party in three other states.