Friendly contests

Amar Singh is not a man accustomed to allowing ambiguity in his statements. He has ensured his Samajwadi Partys negotiations with the Congress have made engrossing melodrama. Now the alliance is cordially on,now its going to be off; Singhs words have swerved to extremes depending on the state of play on a particular day. On Friday,Singh was emphatic that the alliance was broken,that its obituary had been written. The Congress had unilaterally announced candidates for 24 Lok Sabha constituencies in Uttar Pradesh,he said,when the SP would only give up claim to 17. This alliance in the making has gone through so many ups and downs that it may,even after Singhs emphatic statement,see another day.

Survey the political landscape on the eve of the general election,and ferment is easily spotted. Political parties are visibly straining to expand their campaign geographically. The NCP is not just striking for a better seat-sharing deal with the Congress in Maharashtra,it wants its candidates in states as afar as Kerala. And this ambition may not draw just from Sharad Pawars suspected dreams of being PM. It adheres to the current attempt by assorted parties to increase the number of candidates up for election this time. The RJD,for instance,has been perhaps the most stable of the Congresss UPA allies. In 2004,Lalus candidates contested the chunk of seats in Bihar. This time,with a sense of changing voter sentiment,the Congress and the LJP are together demanding the majority of Bihar seats. The BJD,bidding for re-election in the simultaneous polls for the Orissa assembly,is asserting its dominant partnership by getting the BJP to concede 25 more assembly seats than in 2004,in exchange for giving up two Lok Sabha seats. In Tamil Nadu,even as Jayalalithaa firms up,for now,a Third Front partnership,she entices the Congress to consider her prospects as compared to the DMKs. Even little IUML wants to contest 10 UP seats. And Mayawati is briskly announcing BSP candidates far and wide.

Brinkmanship is part of pre-poll negotiations. But the breadth of ambition is also a reflection of a shared understanding that the vote across India is shifting; and each party is keen to stretch its possibilities not just to make a serious bid this time round,but also to enter new terrain so the party organisation can be spread for future consolidation. Therefore,perhaps,the increased prospect of friendly contests,where both allies refuse to abandon a seat,for fear of writing off future prospects in that constituency. These are,as they say,interesting times.