Congress’ political resolution to focus on alliance against BJP

The clamour for a solo ride has ended in the Congress. Ahead of the All India Congress Committee’s (AICC) plenary session that begins on Friday, almost all the State units of the Grand Old Party will voice for a larger alliance to combat the BJP in the 2019 elections.

The plenary will begin with a meeting of the Congress Working Committee on Friday. The nearly-12,000 delegates will air their views on alliances based on the draft political resolution to be presented on Saturday. A member of the plenary’s Drafting Committee said the draft resolution will lay emphasis on the party’s leadership role in forging a credible alliance against the BJP.

‘Sonia should chair UPA’

Though Rahul Gandhi had taken over the mantle of the party from his mother Sonia Gandhi, the Congress’ top leadership is of the opinion that the latter should continue as UPA Chairperson. Sonia Gandhi had recently met floor leaders of various Opposition parties over dinner to chart a common floor strategy against the Centre in both Houses of Parliament.

“Sonia Gandhi is acceptable to the entire political spectrum. If she continues as the leader of the UPA and Rahul Gandhi plays the role of creating a new alliance, it will be beneficial for both the party and the Opposition,” a member of the Drafting Committee said.

In the past, various AICC sessions have seen members demanding a strategy for going alone in elections. Members from States such as Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, where the Congress is part of an alliance for long, had voiced the need to go alone. “Now no one thinks so. The need of the hour is to build a strong alliance,” another Congress leader said.

The Congress also plans to reach out to former party veterans like Sharad Pawar and Mamata Banerjee, who now lead the NCP and the Trinamool Congress, respectively. “The alliance with the NCP should be strengthened while the party will have to seek the chances of improveing the relationship with the Trinamool,” the leader said.

The results of Lok Sabha by-polls in Uttar Pradesh, where the SP-BSP alliance defeated BJP candidates in Gorakhpur and Phulpur, are also being discussed in the Congress camp. Another party leader said the Congress had fielded candidates in both the seats not to split the Opposition votes, but to attract Brahmin votes from the BJP. “It was part of a strategy. Brahmins would not have voted for SP. Our candidates attracted a bit of Brahmin votes so that it did not go to the BJP. Otherwise, we are for an alliance of all Opposition parties in Uttar Pradesh,” said the leader.

A united front?

Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi met Pawar to discuss the possibility of building a united front against the BJP. SP leader Akhilesh Yadav maintained in Lucknow that his party’s ties with the Congress continue to be good.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who maintains an equi-distance policy from the Congress and the BJP, said the BJP is “sinking”. “We can see BJP is sinking ... It is sinking quite fast,” he said. Without ruling out a possibility of an alliance in the future, he added: “We have not thought of any alliance for the time being. There are no such thoughts.”

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