Cong seeks early end to Bihar alliance woes
BIHAR CONGRESS LEADERS WANT THE PARTY HIGH COMMAND TO INITIATE STEPS TO SPELL OUT THE FUTURE COURSE OF ACTION VIS-À-VIS THE ALLIANCE
nNEWDELHI: Worried over the Janata Dal (United)-bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) combine having seized the first-mover advantage ahead of the assembly elections in Bihar, Congress leaders have urged the central leadership to chalk out an elaborate poll strategy to oust the ruling coalition in the state, according to people aware of the developments.
The opposition Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) are yet to firm up their plans ahead of the polls expected to be held in October-november. Senior BJP leader and Union home minister Amit Shah recently addressed a virtual rally to kick off the party’s Bihar strategy.
The other smaller constituents of the mahagathbandhan, or grand alliance, too have demanded clarity on the issues of leadership and distribution of seats, a Congress functionary said on condition of anonymity.
The RJD sought to project Tejashwi Yadav as the chief ministerial candidate, but Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) chief and former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi is against it.rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) and Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) have demanded the formation of a coordination committee to sort out the differences.
Bihar Congress leaders, too, want the party high command to initiate steps to spell out the future course of action, letters from regional leaders and reviewed by HT show.
In it, they have expressed concern over the opposition having ceded its space in the midst of the Covid-19 outbreak despite the “failure” of the ruling coalition in containing it, coupled with “massive anti-incumbency”.
Senior party leader Kishore Kumar Jha earlier urged former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi to galvanise the opposition by holding a virtual rally.
The Congress has also identified 60-70 of the total 243 seats where it is in a position to give a tough fight or even win, a senior leader said.
However, it remains to be seen if the RJD and other constituents are willing to agree to the Congress party’s seat sharing demands.the Congress had last time contested 41 seats and won 27.
The JD(U), which was then a part of the grand alliance, and the RJD fought on 101 seats each. While the RJD won 80 seats, the JD(U) bagged 71 and the BJP’S tally stood at 53. JD(U) later exited the grand alliance and once again joined with the BJP to form a government in 2017.