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Other constituents of the INDIA bloc are worried about the intensifying tussle between the Congress and Samajwadi Party (SP), after the latter publicly aired its dismay and anger at the former’s alleged reluctance to share seats in Madhya Pradesh. On Friday, several INDIA partners suggested that the coordination committee of the alliance intervene to resolve the issue.
At the heart of the tussle is differing perceptions regarding the scope of the alliance. The Congress insists that the seat-sharing among parties of the bloc is for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, while many of the smaller parties feel the larger idea is to work together to defeat the BJP — be it in the state elections or the national polls next year.
SP chief Akhilesh Yadav warned on Thursday that the Congress would face a similar treatment in Uttar Pradesh as was allegedly meted out to his party in MP. Many of the INDIA coalition partners, especially those from the Hindi heartland, seem to agree, worried that their apprehensions regarding the Congress’s “big brotherly” attitude were coming true.
In the shadow of the SP-Congress tussle, the Aam Aadmi Party — also a constituent of INDIA —has fielded candidates in states like MP, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.
Sources said some of the INDIA parties have reached out to the Congress, asking it to show a “big heart” and part with some seats for the SP. Congress leaders, on the other hand, argue that every seat is important in a “dead heat” race. The elections, the last pitstop before the Lok Sabha battle, are key for the party.
However, the blood being spilt between the SP and Congress in the wake of the MP falling out has left leaders of other parties worried.
Talking to The Indian Express, senior JD(U) leader K C Tyagi said the INDIA coordination committee should intervene in the matter. “If relations get spoiled in these state elections, it will have an impact at the all-India level,” Tyagi said.
He underlined that Bihar CM and JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar was the first mover in the alliance, bringing the Congress together with the likes of the Trinamool’s Mamata Banerjee, the AAP’s Arvind Kejriwal and the SP’s Akhilesh Yadav, who had been advocating a third front along with the BRS at the time.
“It was Nitish Kumar who said that without the Congress, there can’t be an all-India alternative. In Patna, we saw Sonia Gandhi sitting with Mamata, Kejriwal and Akhilesh. This was our biggest achievement. Now it is for the Congress, which is the major INDIA constituent in Rajasthan, MP, Chhattisgarh and Telangana, to give proportionate space to smaller parties,” Tyagi said.
He also said the Congress should have struck an alliance with the SP in Madhya Pradesh.
RJD Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Kumar Jha said the INDIA alliance, whose electoral tagline is “Judega Bharat-Jeetega INDIA”, should decide such matters with sensitivity. “If any such thing happens among us, the public would not like it. People are looking at the INDIA alliance with hope,” Jha said, hoping the issue between the SP and Congress will get resolved soon.
Another leader, who did not want to be identified, said the “big brother” attitude being shown by the Congress was not winning it any friends. “INDIA constituents are feeling uncomfortable. There is discontent among constituents from West Bengal, UP, Delhi, Punjab and Bihar,” the leader said.
“The SP had MLAs in MP in the past. There are large numbers of Yadav and Kurmi voters in Bundelkhand. The Congress should not have a problem in giving a few seats to the SP in MP. What will happen if the SP offers the Congress only two Lok Sabha seats in UP against their demand of 25?” the leader said.
The Congress central leadership has so far maintained silence on the issue.
SP MP Javed Ali Khan called the dispute between the SP and the Congress unfortunate, and argued that it was the responsibility of the Congress — being the larger party — to keep the alliance intact, and strengthen it with regional parties to ensure that such situations do not arise in any other state.
He said the SP was firm on its commitment to fight the BJP and other communal forces, and that there was no dilution in its strategy. He argued that it was the Congress’s responsibility to take the alliance forward.
