NEW DELHI: It is too premature to talk about alliances for the 2019 national polls, the Congress said in the wake of allies CPI-M, SP and BSP choosing the go alone line.
“There is issue-based coordination with the parties both inside and outside parliament. It is too premature to talk about alliances at present,” Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said when asked why were the allies opting to distance from the party at a time when they needed to close ranks and counter the BJP.
Over the past few weeks, Uttar Pradesh-based SP and BSP, and the CPI-M have all chosen to drop the idea of forging a grand national alliance with the Congress saying they needed to put their own house in order first. The SP had a pre-poll alliance with the Congress in the 2017 UP Assembly polls but lost the election badly. The BSP had been supportive of the alliance idea after UP results but has changed its stance.
Since then Congress managers have been floating the idea of uniting the Opposition parties in the state and elsewhere to present a credible alternative to the BJP. Forging Opposition unity for 2019 polls is considered as one of the key challenges for Congress chief Rahul Gandhi.
Congress insiders acknowledged that the priority for regional parties was to consolidate their vote banks than to think of next Lok Sabha polls. They said the Left party had compulsions and could not afford to be seen joining hands with the Congress ahead of February Assembly polls in Tripura.
The Left, SP and BSP had come together with the Congress during the Presidential elections last year, former ally JD(U) joined hands with the BJP citing the lack of a focused Opposition narrative ahead of 2019 polls.Congress managers are however hopeful of the regional parties coming together before the 2019 polls.