As Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee steps towards Delhi, Congress plays the waiting game!
By Abdulhafiz Lakhani siyasat.net
New Delhi: Having handled the politics of the country for well over a century, Congress party knows that no two days are same in politics and sooner or later, fortunes change, provided a patient approach is kept on matters.
And, perhaps this is why, even while being routed by BJP and other regional parties, Congress seems to be preferring the waiting game now since it is already established as a national party.
But on the contrary, its ‘sister concern’ the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and its leader—West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee—are showing a hurried approach to national politics in order to be ‘crowned’ the ‘defining force’ for the 2024 General Election to counter BJP.
According to sources close to 10, Janpath, Congress is waiting for its time to come. The party is feeling that the position of the Congress will change after the elections in the five states to be held next year and party leaders are hoping to do well or form government in four states except Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur.
In fact, its senior leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi has also stressed that the ‘tussle’ for the face of Opposition should be halted till 2024 and that the matter could be raised after Lok Sabha election.
Moreover, he has also said that the gap between Congress and TMC has reduced over the past few weeks, especially after TMC won Bengal Assembly election.
Now, if the Congress forms the government in two to three states out of five and wins in Himachal, then the picture will change completely. Then the initiative of Opposition politics will come back in the hands of Congress.
Before the next Lok Sabha elections, there are Assembly elections in at least 13 states of the country. Barring one of these, Uttar Pradesh, the Congress is in direct contest in the remaining 12 states.
Everywhere it is competing with the BJP. In addition to the seven state elections next year, there are elections in Karnataka, Tripura, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Nagaland in 2023. Congress is hoping to do well in many of these states.
Even if we leave out the 2023 elections, the Congress will wait at least till the results of the seven states in 2022.
News that poll strategist Prashant Kishor would be working with the Congress surfaced recently after his meeting with the Gandhis. Soon, though, the talk was that the meeting was neither for Punjab nor for the UP elections; rather, it was for something bigger. Apparently, the general elections of 2024, According to sources.
It’s worth mentioning that it was after the 2017 UP assembly polls that Kishor’s relations with the Congress took a bad turn.
After a terribly poor poll performance, he had blamed many Congress leaders for their arrogance and for not listening to him. If he actually signs up, his first job should be to do something about UP. The only viable idea would be to turn out another ‘magical’ campaign, targeting all other parties with a single line, building a credible narrative around Priyanka, presenting her as the only viable option to the people of the state, combined with a well-crafted manifesto.
For any of this to happen, the Congress party would need to expose its biggest asset in the state to the test of electoral appeal. As they say, the higher the risk, higher the returns. The party can’t just let UP become another West Bengal or Delhi. Keeping Kishor out of a UP strategy and not upping the ante with a high-risk gamble woul be a huge mistake. It may not be able to build any momentum for 2024 without something in its hands in UP.
That is, the efforts of Opposition unity from Congress side will start only after December 2022. By that time, if the condition of the Congress improves, it will bring Opposition parties under its umbrella. If the Congress does not perform well in the seven states, then the it will be ready to negotiate with the regional satraps. At that time Congress can choose Mamata’s alternative.
(www.siyasat.net is Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India based Website, powered by Gujarat siyasat, a Fortnightly)
An Appeal For The Sake Of Upright & Fearless Brand Of Journalism
To sustain and improve our coverage. Gujarat siyasat- a vernacular Fortnightly and English٫ Hindi Website www.siyasat.net
Your little but timely support is needed۔
Bank details، GUJARAT SIYASAT, Current Account 204720110000318, ifsc code BKID0002047 BANK OF INDIA , VASNA BRANCH, AHMEDABAD GUJARAT IND.Also on Phone pay, Paytm,Google pay +91 9925531111
We hope you help and see siyasat.net grow. And rejoice that your contribution has made it possible.
सत्य को ज़िंदा रखने की इस मुहिम में आपका सहयोग बेहद ज़रूरी है। आपसे मिली सहयोग राशि हमारे लिए संजीवनी का कार्य करेगी और हमे इस मार्ग पर निरंतर चलने के लिए प्रेरित करेगी। याद रखिये ! सत्य विचलित हो सकता है पराजित नहीं।
Regards,
Team siyasat dot net.
Ahmedabad.Gujarat. India
