CHENNAI: Congress may be basking in the success of stopping a BJP-government in Karnataka. But political observers say the fact that Congress has to offer Chief Ministership to a regional party may mean a dip in Congress’s bargaining powers in States like Tamil Nadu where it is mostly dependent on regional parties.
With leaders like West Bengal’s Mamata Banerjee and Telangana’s K C Chandrasekara Rao already attempting to form a “regional front”, the way the Karnataka Assembly polls ended would embolden regional parties to strike for a hard bargain with Congress, even though the national party leads a pan-India alliance against the BJP, it is pointed out.
“Congress will be forced to settle for a lesser number of seats by the regional alliance partners in States like Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Even after the polls, the regional parties may force Congress to support a government formed by a coalition of regional parties. Congress will be left with very little option to prevent BJP from coming to power. However, as the Congress gets weaker the fear of BJP’s rising influence would add to the momentum for a third front,” said political analyst Duraisamy Ravindran.
One of the things the Karnataka poll results have cemented strongly is the need for all regional parties to come under a single banner to take on the might of BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Talks about how this alliance must be is already in everyone’s minds. How things turn out would depend on the attitude of the Congress. If Congress wants a strong anti-BJP front and come forward to sacrifice a few seats to accommodate regional parties, there can be no chance of a third front,” says A Balaganesh, a political observer.
There are some who feel that Congress is essential for any strong anti-BJP alliance. “Even in Karnataka, JD (S) secured only 18 per cent votes and 37 seats. So, for any party to take on the BJP, they should join hands with Congress,” he said.