Cong looks for strategic alliances to counter BJP

Strategic alliances, rather than building up a national narrative against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) should be the focus of the Congress, ahead of the 2019 national election, some of its strategists feel.

The party has ended by losing in government formation in four of the five recent state elections.

One old hand, Mani Shankar Aiyar (pictured) , has suggested going back to the 2003 formula, under which party chief Sonia Gandhi forged strategic alliances and took back power from the BJPled alliance at the centre in 2004. C P Joshi, another senior, had a similar view.

The political narrative has changed in the country, he said, and pointed to the Bihar assembly polls in 2015, where a JD-RJD-Congress alliance defeated the BJP-led one. He felt a similar formation could have stopped the BJP in Uttar Pradesh but Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati would not agree. he noted the BJP vote share in UP had dropped from 43 per cent in 2014 to 39 per cent in 2017. While, the SP plus Congress share was 29 per cent. If the BSP’s 23 per cent was added, the combined tally would be far more than the BJP's.

“Wait for 2019; there will be no space for the BJP in UP,” he promised.

The CPI-M’s Sitaram Yechury favours building a ‘national narrative’ against the BJP, through a dialogue between like-minded parties and public movements on the ground.

According to Yechury, doing maths is a more academic exercise; mobilising popular support in favour of a political philosophy will educate the voter and bring about a change in his preferences.

Citing the example of West Bengal, where the Congress had an informal seat adjustment with Yechury’s party, the Congress leader said a convergence of non-BJP votes will have to be worked at.

“We will do everything that is required to challenge and expose (Prime Minister) Modi's politics but political challenges vary from state to state,” said Joshi.