The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) front has skipped two deadlines to finalise seat-sharing. December 31 was the deadline envisaged by Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief and West Bengal Chief Minister (CM) Mamata Banerjee.
But as we enter the new year, the front already looks jaded.
News18 has accessed some information on the two-day national alliance committee formed by the Congress for seat-sharing. Sources say the meetings concluded with the belief that the Congress should ask for more.
Over the past few days, state leaders of the Congress have been meeting Rahul Gandhi and president Mallikarjun Kharge. The idea was to get a sense of the ground. The feedback from most states puts the Congress at loggerheads with its allies, especially in West Bengal (WB), Punjab, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh (UP).
IN WEST BENGAL
To begin with, Bengal. TMC leader Kunal Ghosh’s harsh words against the Congress have hardened the latter’s resolve to stick to its demand for at least eight seats. Banerjee has publicly made the point that, so far, the Congress can win only two seats — Malda and Murshidabad. State Congress Chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has, however, told Gandhi that with the Left’s vote share going up in the recent state polls, the Congress can perform better.
It is unlikely that Banerjee will agree to it.
IN PUNJAB, DELHI & UP
In Punjab and Delhi, the Congress has told the top leadership that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is an unreliable ally. It had set its eyes on Haryana, where the Congress would be in a straight fight with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). It feels it can ask for at least 10 seats in Punjab and two in Delhi. Here, too, the AAP is unlikely to bend.
In Uttar Pradesh (UP), the problem is real. The Congress is not too confident of Amethi and Rae Bareilly. Both seats are prestige battles and its only hope is an amiable Samajwadi Party (SP). But post MP brush-off, this may not happen.
Sources say that the report plans to tell other allies that as a national alternative to the BJP, the Congress compromising to less seats than them would make the party look weaker vis-a-vis the BJP. This would defeat the purpose of taking on the BJP. Sources say that in the last stage, Sonia Gandhi and Kharge would speak to the difficult allies to convince them.
This may be a tough nut to crack, though.
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