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Congress gearing up for elections |
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With the Left parties not indicating any relaxation of their hardline stance on the nuclear deal, the Congress, the leading light of the UPA, is preparing to face eventual withdrawal of support by the Left which will lead to a mid-term poll sooner or later. The Congress also appears to be in no mood to go back on the nuclear deal with the United States.
Observers say that the party may explore new alignments in the event of early elections. This came through on Sunday, Sept. 16, when a Congress leader said that the party does not consider even arch political rival, the Samajwadi Party, a political untouchable. The statement coincided with speculation in politi¬cal circles that Mulayam Singh Yadav’s Samajwadi party may do some “out-of-the-box” political thinking to contain Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party in Uttar Pradesh.
Observers say that the Congress’ apparent willingness to deal with the Samajwadi party, the party which prevented Sonia Gandhi from occupying the prime-ministerial post after the col¬lapse of the NDA government in 1999, demonstrates the anxiety to find a viable political slot for itself in the country’s most populous state. Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party has already made it clear that it is determined to challenge the Congress in states like Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh and the national capital territory of Delhi. For the Congress, a partnership is crucial for its survival in Uttar Pradesh.
In a related straw in the wind, Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi’s son and party MP from Amethi, criticised Chief Minister Mayawa¬ti’s decision to scrap student union elections in the state. He said the Uttar Pradesh Government action is an attack on the democratic rights of the students.
Homecoming by V.C. Shukla, Arvind Netam
The Congress is also trying to get leaders who had quit and joined other parties to come back to the party fold. In Chhat¬tisgarh, veteran leaders Vidya Charan Shukla and Arvind Netam have announced their return to the Congress. They got the green signal for the homecoming from Congress president Sonia Gandhi last week. V.C. Shukla who had fought on a BJP ticket was de¬feated by former Chief Minister Ajit Jogi in the last Lok Sabha elections. Shukla had been in the political wilderness after he quit during Rajiv Gandhi’s tenure and then returned when Narasim¬ha Rao was Prime Minister. He again left the Congress and joined the Nationalist Congress party in 2003 from where he migrated to the BJP.
In another significant move, party president Sonia Gandhi has asked party leaders not to speak out of turn on key and controversial issues. Sonia Gandhi conveyed her displeasure at party leaders publicly taking potshots at each other on the Ram Setu issue through the AICC’s regular press briefing.
Some party leaders like Jairam Ramesh and R.K. Dhawan had publicly said that Tourism and Culture Minister Ambika Soni should have resigned on moral grounds because of the erroneous ASI affidavit that raised questions on the existence of Lord Ram. Party spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said in New Delhi on Sept. 17 that the party’s sentiment is that leaders should not talk pub¬licly on such issues.
Party sources said that Sonia Gandhi is particularly unhappy that party leaders, who should be targeting the BJP and the NDA, are keeping alive the controversy when it should have been capped.
The Congress also is none too happy with Ambika Soni’s remarks that while she has been working honestly and according to the rules and regulations, that did not appear to be enough and that she was learning that one has to have something more.
Maharashtra : Question mark over Vilasrao Deshmukh continuing as CM
There are reports that the Congress may consider replacing Vilasrao Deshmukh as Maharashtra Chief Minister as part of its plan to gear up the party for a mid-term poll, if it becomes inevitable. In this context, sources say that Union Energy Min¬ister Sushil Kumar Shinde may be considered for replacing Vilas¬rao Deshmukh in Maharashtra.
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