Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge with party leaders Sonia Gandhi and KC Venugopal during a Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting.
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: Amid differences with allies remaining unresolved, Congress has called a meeting of its Central Election Committee (CEC) headed by party chief Mallikarjun Kharge for two days from Sunday to discuss candidates for poll-bound Maharashtra and Jharkhand where the I.N.D.I.A. bloc is locked in a keen contest.
The meeting, which is likely to see the attendance of former party chiefs Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, General Secretary (Organisation) K C Venugopal and Karnataka Minister K J George among others, comes as the last date of nomination for the first phase of Jharkhand ends on October 25 and four days later for the rest of the seats.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), the Maharashtra version of I.N.D.I.A, and the JMM-led alliance in Jharkhand are yet to finalise the seat sharing arrangements in the two states and partners are engaged in hard bargaining.
In Maharashtra, there is an understanding about 260 seats while in Jharkhand, JMM and Congress will fight 70 out of 81 seats while leaving the rest to RJD and Left parties. However, it is not clear how many seats each party will fight in both states.
Unlike in Karnataka, Telangana and Himachal Pradesh where it won, the Congress is yet to hit the campaign trail and setting its narrative in both the states.
In Jharkhand, sources said, the party is acknowledging that the battle is tough amid fears that anti-incumbency may impact the alliance’s prospects, as the BJP, which has already finalised an alliance with its NDA partners, is on an offensive.
There is also a reading in Congress that the corruption allegations against Chief Minister Hemant Soren is a liability and that the JMM is not able to attract all tribal votes though it gets a chunk of Santhal votes. The joining of Champai Soren in BJP also will have an impact.
Sources said that the aggressive BJP campaign based on ‘Hindutva’ is not being countered by the Congress, which is being branded pro-Muslim in the state. The BJP has gone on a high-decibel rhetoric on illegal immigration of Bangladeshis into tribal areas.
They also said the BJP is using the continuance of a Kashmiri Muslim, Ghulam Ahmed Mir, as in-charge, and appointment of Tariq Anwar as a senior observer along with the corruption allegations against former Congress minister Alamgir Alam in their campaign against Congress.
In Maharashtra, Shiv Sena (UBT) on Friday threatened not to participate in future discussions if Congress Maharashtra chief Nana Patole attends them, prompting party in-charge Ramesh Chennithala to rush to Mumbai to smoothen the troubles with the Uddav Thackeray-led party.
While Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) have reached a consensus on around 260 of the 288 seats, there is intense lobbying for the rest. Also, these parties will also have to accommodate smaller parties like Samajwadi Party, CPI(M), Peasants and Workers Party among others.
Congress is looking for 115-120 seats, but the sources indicated the final number would be around 105 only though Patole is engaged in hard bargain. However, the Haryana debacle has shrunk Congress’ bargaining power.
Sources indicated that the Congress is more into its negotiations on seat sharing while not taking proactive steps to building a narrative and other electioneering measures. This comes even as the Shiv Sena-BJP-NCP combine is working at tightening loose ends by addressing concerns of various caste groups.
Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls will take place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP will be going up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress try to make their mark. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faces a new challenge after Hemant Soren's recent arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP. The Haryana election resulted in a shock loss for Congress, which was looking to galvanize on the Lok Sabha poll performance, while J&K also saw the grand old party eventually stepping away from the cabinet, with Omar Abdullah's JKNC forming government. It remains to be seen if the upcoming polls help BJP cement its position further or provide a fillip to I.N.D.I.A. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.
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