NEW DELHI: Majority of the Delhi Congress leaders backed the high command’s stand to reject an alliance with the AAP, with some of them contending that it would have been a mistake to share the burden of “anti-incumbency” against the Arvind Kejriwal government. Tuesday’s decision to contest alone in all seven Lok Sabha seats came as a relief for this majority group of Congress rank and file. Several former MLAs and sitting councillors, who spoke to Morning Standard, said any electoral pact with Arvind Kejriwal would have proved suicidal for the Grand Old Party.
On the other side of the spectrum, a fraction of Congress leaders and political analysts termed the decision to opting out of a coalition meant a ‘walkover’ for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Setting aside the reports of a possible alliance with the AAP, Delhi Congress head Sheila Dikshit has announced that her party would contest on its own in the parliamentary elections in Delhi.
“Good that the central leadership did not budge to the pressure of Mahagathbandhan allies. Forging association with the AAP at this juncture would have hurt our chance to revive lost ground in Delhi. An alliance would have instituted the AAP as a permanent fixture in the city politics,” reasoned a senior state Congress functionary.
He added a deal with the AAP seems illogical, claiming the Congress is on the path to resurrection since its drubbing in 2015. The contention put up by the Congress leader is substantiated by the election statistics. The numbers show that the Congress vote share, which plummeted to below 10% in the 2015 Assembly elections, went up to 21.9 % in the 2017 municipal elections. The city has witnessed three by-polls to two Assembly seats (2017) and 13 municipal wards (2016) apart from the 2017 municipal election in the last four years. The Congress’ average vote share in all these elections is around 25 %.
Another Congress leader, who has been associated with party’s election strategies, said it would have not been an intelligent move to share the burden of ‘anti-incumbency’ against the Kejriwal government.
“Same mistake, the Congress, did in Uttar Pradesh when it aligned with the ruling Samajwadi Party in the 2017 Assembly elections,” he said.
However, Sanjay Kumar, Director at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), was not ready to accept the argument. “It is not Assembly elections in Delhi. This logic is not valid,” he said, adding that the Congress-AAP combine would have ‘wiped out’ the BJP in Delhi in the parliamentary elections. “The Congress and the AAP contesting separately will result in division of votes, which will eventually help the BJP to retain all seven seats. It is not a wise idea by the Congress to contest election in Delhi alone. A rise in vote share is no justification for not having a tactical political pact. In any state, a three-way contest will help the BJP,” said Kumar.
A senior Delhi Congress, privy to Tuesday’s meeting held at Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s residence, said initially two Delhi leaders had favoured an alliance but dropped their stand given the majority decision. “This time, we should have gone with the AAP,” he said, who wished not be named.
But, former Delhi Congress president Arvinder Singh Lovely contended Kejriwal’s appeal for ‘anti-Modi-Shah-front’ was a desperate attempt to survive in politics. “He (Kejriwal) is pleading, pushing for alliance as he has understood his position. Several of his colleagues have deserted him. He can’t be trusted anymore,” the former Delhi minister said.
The Congress functionary, quoted above, said Kejriwal must have realised that the Muslims may not vote en masse for the AAP in this year’s Lok Sabha polls. “Given the political and social circumstances such as mob lynching cases or anti-minority statements by the BJP leaders, minority votes in the capital will return to the Congress fold. The Muslims will not want to see the BJP winning all seven seats again,” he said.
What did you feel was the Congress’ hesitation to have an alliance with you?
Congress should think above personal interest. We both have differences on many things, but this is the time to rise above it…We have stood by them whenever it came to any issue of national interest
When will the BJP announce names of candidates for seven seats in Delhi?
There is a procedure in the BJP. The parliamentary board approves names. A meeting is held and names are discussed and a final decision is taken thereafter