nDespite being rivals in the West Bengal elections, the Congress has ostensibly come out in support of Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee’s clarion call seeking Opposition unity.
While the grand old party said the West Bengal Chief Minister’s letter reflects the view of the Congress on the issue of protecting the Constitution from the attacks by the BJP led Centre, the party has gone full throttle in Assam where the last phase of assembly polls are due on Tuesday.
AICC spokesman Rajeev Shukla said the sentiment of opposition unity has always been there in Congress. “Rahul Gandhi has repeatedly said that constitutional institutions are under attack from the BJP government and the opposition should fight unitedly against this assault. Congress always talks about a united opposition, especially on national issues or on the subject of protecting the Constitution,” the former Union Minister said.
Congress is in alliance with Left parties and is contesting against the TMC in Bengal. However, it seems to lend support to Mamata in her fierce poll battle against the BJP as Rahul and other senior leaders have not visited Bengal for campaigning yet. Rahul and Priyanka have been regular to other poll bound states of Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry.
While Congress insiders are confident that its strategy will help Mamata retain West Bengal, the mood in the party is upbeat as it believes it will stall the prospects of ruling BJP in neighbouring Assam.
The party wants to reach out to all the 40 seats in the last phase and has scheduled at least 10 rallies of Rahul Gandhi and other leaders covering four assembly seats in the area. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi who too was scheduled for few public address in Assam as well other poll bound states has however scaled down following her isolation due to her husband Robert Vadra being tested covid positive.
Backed by AICC in-charge of elections in the north eastern state, Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel has been burning the midnight oil with his team from his home state to regain the Congress glory in the region.
Congress leaders who are involved in the campaign confided that the performance of the two phases has been favourable. Congress has been able to change the narrative that BJP both at Centre and State have denied Assam and other NE States of the special status they enjoyed for decades. “The reduction in the centre-state sharing schemes from 90:10 during UPA to 60:40 now and progress in the state will remain a far-fetched dream without communal harmony. BJP is so desperate that it is engineering a defection even during the elections,” said a senior party leader and a former Union Minister camping in Assam for last couple of months.
A per media reports earlier, Home Minister Amit Shah claimed that BJP has made significant gains in upper Assam in the last two phases and that it will get 37 seats, Congress General Secretary Jitendra Singh said the results on May 2 will show how two new parties in upper Assam were instrumental in making Congress sweep the first phase, helping in division of non-Congress votes between themselves and the BJP. He said it will help Congress win seats it wasn’t expecting to win.
In the third phase, the BJP is contesting on lesser number of seats as most of the seats in the third phase are being contested by its allies. The opposition Congress and AIUDF are confident of winning the maximum number of seats in both the second and third phases of the polls.
In the 2016 Assembly election, Congress and AIUDF fought separately. While the former got 30.9 per cent of the votes, the latter could garner 13 per cent. BJP secured 29.5 per cent and its allies AGP and BPF got 8.1 and 3.9 per cent of the votes respectively leading to the formation of Sarbananda Sonowal Government in Assam.