PATNA: It appears that all is not well within INDIA bloc partners in Bihar as AICC general secretary and party’s co-in-charge Shahnawaz Alam on Wednesday said his party would like to have two deputy chief ministers, including a Muslim if the coalition formed the next government in the state.
Alam, currently on a tour of the state, told party workers that the Congress would like to have two deputy CMs if the INDIA bloc headed by RJD’s Tejashwi Prasad Yadav formed the government after the assembly polls due next year.
“It’s our resolve that if the next government is headed by Tejashwi, our party shall have to deputy CMs — one a Muslim and the other from Upper Caste (general category),” he said.
His statement is aimed at reaching out to his party’s traditional support base, which includes Muslims, Upper Castes, and Dalits.
Alam’s statement came two days after he contended that there is no ‘Bada Bhai’ (big player) or ‘Chhota Bhai’ (small player) in politics.
“We must reinforce the ideological foundation of the coalition, rather than a hierarchy of power. Congress workers should not view themselves as subordinate to other partners. Any decisions on alliance would incorporate the inputs of Congress workers,” he said.
On tickets for the assembly elections, Alam said that the distribution should be done on the basis of strike-rate — a metric reflection of the parties’ performance in the recent Lok Sabha elections.
The Congress won three out of nine seats it contested (at the strike-rate of 33%), while the RJD won four out of 23 seats it contested (17%), respectively. The CPI(M-L), the third partner, however, registered the highest strike rate of 67% by winning two out of three seats it had contested in the polls.
Remarks come after Lalu backs Mamata
AICC general secretary Shahnawaz Alam’s statement is significance in the wake of RJD chief Lalu Prasad’s backing West Bengal CM Mamta Banerjee’s contention to lead the INDIA bloc at the national level.
Congress is a major ally of the bloc and Rahul Gandhi is regarded as the most important leader of the coalition