With the date for implementation of the model code of conduct for 2024 Lok Sabha elections approaching fast, hectic activity has begun in both BJP-led NDA camp and the leaderless I.N.D.I.A bloc. During 2019 elections, the MCC came into effect on March 10. In terms of campaign, the BJP is currently glued to the Ram Mandir inauguration, while the Congress is focussing on its Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra that is to begin this month. As far as seat-sharing in concerned, NDA has not yet started talks as it is the BJP that will contest the maximum number of seats. In the I.N.D.I.A bloc, seat-sharing talks have begun on a sour note with constituents coming out openly expressing their differences.
JD(U) has expressed its unhappiness over the matter. “Allies going in different directions are a matter of serious concern… Congress has embarked on its own yatra. Rather, it should have been an I.N.D.I.A Yatra,” JD(U) leader KC Tyagi has said. The Congress finally begun seat-sharing talks with constituents from January 7, and hopes to complete the process by this month-end. This is much longer than the unofficial December 31, 2023 target proposed by the Trinamool Congress in the bloc's meeting last month.
The Congress party’s five-member internal committee, which includes former chief ministers Ashok Gehlot and Bhupesh Baghel who lost state elections recently, have held talks with party president Mallikarjun Kharge and presented their findings. Trinamool supremo and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee has given a formula that the Congress should contest on 300 seats and regional parties of I.N.D.I.A bloc on the balance 243 seats.
While leaders of I.N.D.I.A bloc parties at the national level have met and expressed desire to join hands to oust Modi, the cadre on the ground and state-level leaderships in many states are pushing back as they have been opposing each other for many years. Unless they come on the same page, a seamless vote transfer may not happen.
A meeting of the alliance committee is scheduled to be held on Friday, January 12, which the Trinamool Congress is likely to skip.
AAP Vs INC in Punjab
The seat-sharing discussion between AAP and Congress has reached a flashpoint with local units of both parties rejecting the need for any alliance. It's naturally tough for them. AAP gained at the expense of Congress and defeated it in the 2022 state elections. At a press conference, CM Bhagwant Mann said: “Ek thi Congress”, while Pawan Khera of Congress retorted by saying “Ek tha joker.”
Conceptually, any alliance between the number one and number two party in a state cannot happen because both would fear loss of votes, and help the other party in this process. As this alliance is just for general elections and not for state elections, which are due in 2027, it adds another layer of complexity.
ALSO READ | Sympathy Card Its Best Bet As AAP Navigates 2024 Electoral Landscape Amid Rising Tensions With BJP
TMC Vs INC In West Bengal
In Bengal, the Trinamool Congress is willing to give two seats to the Congress in a seat-sharing pact. Mamata Banerjee has been an advocate of regional parties taking the lead and calling the shots in seat distribution talks. This has led to a war of words between state units.
Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chaudhary said he won’t go begging to TMC for seats, and that Mamata's party was doing them no favour. He said the Trinamool needs the Congress more. In fact, after the attack on ED officers in Bengal, Adhir even advocated implementation of President’s Rule in the state. Kunal Ghosh of TMC later slammed the Congress over the remark, reminding the grand old party did not win any seat in the 2021 assembly polls and the fact that TMC doesn't need anybody to fight the BJP, but for the sake of INDIA alliance, their leader Mamata Banerjee is fully cooperating.
On Thursday, the TMC hinted that it would not meet the five-member alliance panel formed by the Congress that has been holding seat-sharing talks with I.N.D.I.A parties.
ALSO READ | TMC Won't Meet Cong Alliance Panel On Bengal Seat-Sharing: Report
CPM Vs INC In Kerala
Similarly, in Kerala, the CPM-led LDF and Congress-led UDF have been fighting against each other since Independence. The Congress won 19 out of the 20 seats on offer in Kerala in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The fact that the CPM is largely left only in Kerala, after being wiped out in Bengal and Tripura, it is unlikely to go for an alliance here.
Tricky Situation For MVA In Maharashtra
In Maharashtra, the split in Shiv Sena and NCP has suddenly made the Congress the largest party in the Maharashtra Vikas Agadi. The Shiv Sena had contested on 22, NCP 19 and Congress 25 seats in 2019. While the Sena was in alliance with the BJP, the NCP was in alliance with the Congress.
Initial reports had said the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray faction) was asking for 23 seats, and Congress strategists wanted that since Sena and NCP strength have now reduced by almost half (on the conservative side as most MLAs of both parties have left), they should get to contest on half the number of seats they contested in 2019. This would have meant the Congress getting 25 seats, leaving 11 for Sena, 10 for NCP and two for smaller parties like VBA.
After the January 9 meeting, however, the leaders said the three parties had agreed on a seat-sharing plan. While they did not divulge the numbers, reports said the Congress and the Sena (UBT) could contest 18-20 seats each, and the NCP might get 8-10 seats.
In Uttar Pradesh, the public spat now seems to be settled between Samajwadi Party and Congress. A meeting is scheduled to be held on Friday to discuss UP seat-sharing plan.
To sum up, the delay in seat-sharing finalisation and public bickerings have left the I.N.D.I.A bloc supporters aghast. This also does not convey to undecided voters that all is well. BJP is banking on its stability, and to a neutral voter the I.N.D.I.A bloc in its current form cannot be relied upon to give a stable government. Time is running out for I.N.D.I.A parties.
[Disclaimer: The opinions, beliefs, and views expressed by the various authors and forum participants on this website are personal and do not reflect the opinions, beliefs, and views of ABP Network Pvt. Ltd.]
[Disclaimer: The opinions, beliefs, and views expressed by the various authors and forum participants on this website are personal and do not reflect the opinions, beliefs, and views of ABP Network Pvt. Ltd.]
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