GIRIYAMMANAHALLI (CHITRADURGA DIST): In a bold clarification, Congress general secretary in-charge of communication Jairam Ramesh on Wednesday said the party will not enter into an alliance with JDS ahead of the 2023 Assembly polls in Karnataka. Speaking to TNIE while taking part in the Bharat Jodo Yatra, he said Congress will fight the polls on its own and come to power. On alliances by other opposition parties ahead of the 2024 general elections, he said the Third, Fourth and Fifth fronts will not work. For any alliance to work, it should be led either by Congress or BJP, he added.
Giving an example of his work as an advisor to former PM HD Deve Gowda in 1996, he said the alliance experiment will not work under present circumstances. “Opposition unity is not possible without Congress. Every alliance needs a pivot, that is either the BJP or Congress. Opposition parties speak of unity, but they are forming alliances to cut into Congress’ votes. They think this can win them more seats,” he added.
For a stable coalition government, the 2004 UPA-1 Congress model is the best. “The Congress, which had 145 seats, gave good governance and better programmes. Only this arrangement works. No other will,” he said.
Stating that it is too early to predict the 2024 general elections, he said pre-poll alliances work in some instances and the party has such alliances with regional parties in Jharkhand, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Maharashtra.
On the alliance being formed by Telangana Rashtra Samithi, he said TRS will take VRS (Voluntary Retirement Scheme) because of its Bharat Rashtra Samithi effort. He said the Bharat Jodo Yatra’s most important contribution has been to bring Congress together. Infighting is gone, and the party is united and disciplined, he added.
Congress will come back to power in 2023 in Karnataka and also win elections in other parts of the country. Within a month of the yatra, Rahul Gandhi’s image has been transformed, he said. The yatra is the foundation stone for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. It has rejuvenated Congress and worked as the ‘Sanjeevini’ for the party, he said.
The yatra has energised grassroots workers and the momentum will be kept up. “We had some doubts when it entered Karnataka as the state is ruled by BJP. But the response has been good. I hope people will have a similar response in other states,” he said. A large number of people not affiliated to any party are taking part in the yatra and they are looking towards Congress with hope, he added.