Congress is facing a bizarre situation in Jharkhand on forming alliance in the State. While the party MlAs endorsed workers’ sentiment of going alone in assembly elections in a meeting with the Central Screening Committee today. Sources disclosed that most of them are personally in favour of contesting elections in alliance.
“Contesting elections together with alliance partners will help them (sitting MlAs) in securing tickets from their present constituencies and will also help in cornering undivided votes of alliance partners together,” said a top leader of the party.
Nonetheless, Congress seems to be facing one of its worst ever dilemma—whether to follow the sentiments of party workers on alliance or take a call on alliance to save party’s sagging fortune in Jharkhand. The dilemma was compounded after sitting MlAs of the party and senior leaders in a meeting with Central Screening Committee backed workers’ sentiments on no-alliance in Jharkhand.
Party seniors were candid enough to endorse workers’ sentiments expressed in a meeting with the committee on Saturday. While party MlAs were tightlipped about what they advised to the committee, party seniors rallied behind the workers on the question of no-alliance in the State.
The committee however dropped the ball in the court of party high command and offered plausible explanation for the change of heart among senior party leaders and elected representatives. The explanations however indicated differences of opinion between the sitting MlAs and senior leaders who see alliance as a direct threat to their candidature.
“By and large they are not in favour of alliance which is quite natural. If seats are forfeited for alliance then it is quite natural that somewhere rights of a candidate or people of the organization are diluted,” said Chairman of the committee, Bhanwar Jitendra Singh.
The committee has been asked by Congress’ grass-root workers, block presidents and district presidents to distance itself from present alliance partners in Jharkhand and go alone in assembly election. The oldest political party of India is currently running a coalition government with JMM and Rashtriya Janta Dal.
According to sources in the Congress, some senior leaders advocated hard bargaining with the principal alliance partner Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and maintain upper hand in the seat sharing for assembly elections in the State. The committee will appraise the party high command about the prevailing sentiments among the party leaders which was collected during two-days of marathon meeting at Ranchi. “Our party General Secretary is coming so you can ask the question (about alliance in Jharkhand),” added Singh.
On the contrary, sources in the Congress confided that the party is looking at long term gains in the State and shy away from alliance so that party is strengthened in Jharkhand before next parliamentary elections. The drubbing in the lok Sabha elections has eroded the confidence of getting benefits of going with alliance partners.
“What transpired in the meeting with MlAs and party seniors indicates that the party is actually preparing for 2019 and wants their workers and leaders to make their presence felt in almost all assembly as well as parliamentary constituencies,” said a senior party leader.
Meanwhile, the Screening Committee has asked aspirants to spend more time in their constituencies instead of making a beeline at the party headquarters at Delhi and not waste time over what is the sole business of the party high command.“They will get votes from people so they should work in the field and do not show their faces in Delhi. If they it will work against their prospects,” maintained Singh.