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Assembly polls : Differences over seat-sharing |
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Uncertainty continues about the political alignments for next month’s Assembly elections in Bihar, Jharkhand and Haryana. There are sharp differences in both the major alliances, the ruling United Progressive Alliance and the Opposition National Democratic Alliance on proposed alignments and seat-sharing.
In Jharkhand, the Congress and the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) have formed an alliance in the state, but Lalu Prasad Yadav’s Rashtriya Janata Dal which is a constituent of the United Progressive Alliance Government at the Centre, is not a party to the deal. The Congress has conceded senior status to the JMM which is to contest 35 seats in the 81-member Assembly. The Congress is to contest 33 seats, leaving only 13 seats to be shared by the RJD and the Left parties. The RJD and the Left are naturally quite upset over the Congress-JMM move. The RJD has made it clear that the Congress should be ready for retaliation in Bihar where it has threatened to contest 200 seats leaving only 43 to be shared by the Congress and other alliance partners.
The RJD’s Bihar unit spokesman, Shivanand Tiwari, said : “The Congress and JMM have badly hoodwinked us by formalising seat-sharing without taking the RJD into confidence.” The CPI(M) also criticised the Congress for inking the deal without taking the other alliance partners into confidence. “It is a unilateral announcement and not in line with our thinking”, politburo member Sitaram Yechury said.
On the other side of the divide, the picture of the BJP and its NDA partners also continues to be hazy. It is still not clear whether the Janata Dal (United) will ultimately ally with the BJP or Rambilas Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party in Bihar. The BJP, of course, has announced that it will enter into an alliance with the JDU in Bihar and Jharkhand. The announcement was made after a meeting of the party’s parliamentary board in New Delhi. But the JDU camp appears to be divided over the issue of alliance. The Lok Janshakti Party has stated that the JDU could have an alliance with it only after severing its ties with the BJP. The JDU efforts to reach a deal with the Lok Janshakti Party suffered a setback after senior BJP leader, Sushil Modi, said that BJP president L.K. Advani had authorised JDU leader Nitish Kumar to get Rambilas Paswan to join an anti-Lalu Prasad Yadav alliance. This had Steel Minister Paswan scrambling to issue a denial at a press conference on January 3 that he ever considered joining an anti-RJD combination that would have also included the “communal” BJP. He asserted that it was Nitish Kumar who was keen to “ditch” BJP to join a secular anti-Lalu coalition which could also include the Congress.
The JDU on is part has thrown hints that it could reconsider its alliance with the BJP if the Congress leaves the RJD and joins hands with Rambilas Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party. The JDU also appears to have played the LJP card to get more seats in the seat-sharing agreement with the BJP for the Assembly elections in Bihar. The BJP has virtually conceded that the JDU will play the role of a bigger partner in Bihar. Reports say that BJP has agreed to settle for 105 seats leaving the remaining 138 seats for the JDU.
In Haryana, the ruling Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) of Om Prakash Chautala appears to be searching for allies. The BJP has decided to fight the elections for the 90-member Assembly on its own. It may be recalled that Om Prakash Chautala’s INLD had failed to win even a single seat in the Lok Sabha elections held last year when it had fought on its own. There are reports that a desparate INLD is sending feelers to Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) for discussions on a pre-poll alliance in Haryana. The party is believed to have sent an emissary to Mayawati with the proposal for an alliance. Sources in the INLD said the party would release its second list of candidates for the Assembly elections only after consultations with the BSP if the latter agrees to a pre-poll alliance.
On the Congress front, the party appears to be facing the problem of too many contenders for the post of Chief Minister if it wins the elections. Ageing PCC chief Bhajan Lal is fiercely resisting attempts of a section of the AICC to tame his ambition to become the Chief Minister of the State in case of the party’s victory. So far there are no indications that the Congress will leave any seat or seats for its UPA partners in the state.
Setback for Third Front
The idea of forming a Third Front consisting of non-Congress, non-BJP parties floated by Samajwadi Party chief and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav has suffered a severe setback with the Left parties snubbing him. A hard-hitting editorial in the forthcoming issue of People’s Democracy makes it clear that the CPI(M) is more than happy with the arrangement with the Congress. “Many political parties that today advance the slogan of a Third Front do so purely in electoral terms. Many constituents of the erstwhile United Front, displaying rank opportunism, abandoned the anti-communal platform to join the BJP-led NDA so as to share the spoils of power. Apart from this, the experience of the People’s Front must also be kept in mind. This was formed with Jyoti Basu as chairman and Mulayam Singh Yadav as convener. However, during the last elections to the President of India, this effort was disrupted with the Samajwadi Party deciding to back the BJP/NDA candidate. Any front that confines itself to political manoeuvering and electoral bargaining does not meet the CPM’s desired objective.” the editorial said.
The editorial also appeared to be in agreement with the Congress’ charge that Yadav’s renewed effort to mobilise the Third Front was “part of a secret attempt to destabilise the UPA regime. It merits repetition that any talk of a Third Front as a means for political/electoral manoeuvering at the Centre today has the danger of providing scope and space for he communal forces to seek a return to the centre-stage. This is something that which all who cherish India, as we know it today, cannot permit.”
The Left parties in Uttar Pradesh are sceptical of Mulayam Singh Yadav’s proposal for a Third Front. CPI state secretary Ashok Mishra said that the Chief Minister should clarify his relationship with the BJP. Most Left party leaders believe that one of the main reasons for Mulayam Singh Yadav mooting the Third Front is his confrontation with the Congress. CPI leaders said “the BJP is instigating Mulayam to form a Third Front in order to destabilise the UPA Government at the Centre”. They said the BJP is using Mulayam Singh Yadav as a tool to fulfil its designs.
On the other hand, Mulayam Singh Yadav has again said that he is confident of forming the Third Front at the Centre “despite the hesitation of the Left at this juncture” in this regard. He said “after rejecting the NDA, the people of the country are now in a mood to reject the UPA also as they are dissatisfied with the UPA Government and, therefore, the Third Front is the need of the hour.”
The Samajwadi Party-Congress battle in Uttar Pradesh has taken a turn for the worse with the SP accusing the Congress of insulting Muslims because they did not vote for the party.
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