This refers to the article, “Warm, or deadly, embraceIJ” (February 3) by Bishwadeep Ghosh. It is ironical that the oldest political party, which proved to be a banyan tree under which no other tree, big or small, flourished, is now in a moribund stage. The Congress had to accept the hegemony of a party which is not even one-fifth of its age. It is true that, had the Congress not tied up with the Samajwadi Party, there would have been a cornered contest and the Congress' performance would have been precarious. But after the alliance, the contest has been a three cornered one and has given a headache to the BJP, and to some extent to the BSP.
The result on March 11 will show which way the cookie crumbles. If the nascent alliance wins, both the young leaders will be ecstatic and Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi will start day dreaming for a big win in the 2019 general election. But if the reverse happens, the alliance will dissipate as early as it has come into existence.