The initial energy witnessed within the ranks of the INDI Alliance seems to be dissipating somewhat as political parties begin to receive feedback from their respective votebanks. Adjustment for seats is also not proving as easy as was thought earlier. It is clear that there was a considerable element of wishful thinking in the early stages, when it was stated that such differences would be dealt with ‘when the time comes’. Well, the time is approaching and the signals are not very positive.
The Congress is claiming that, being the major challenger in the coming state elections, it does not need to provide space to others. This is not going down well with parties that have ambitions in those states, such as the Samajwadi Party in Madhya Pradesh. On its part, the SP has already declared that adjustment in UP for the Lok Sabha elections will be outside of its traditional bastions. Considering the fact that the Congress and SP are vying for the same section of voters, there is definitely trouble ahead.
Other leaders of the coalition have realised that this tie-up does not really benefit them in their home states, that they will have to not only contest alone, but also against the local ambitions of their ‘national’ partners. This is to a large extent the case with Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal, and to some extent in Maharashtra. This is because many of the issues are not just local but also have to do with social and cultural factors specific to the states. The cultures of Maratha and ‘Bhadra Lok’ politics, for instance, have few similarities and are triggered very differently. So, in the final analysis, what are the commonalities?
Congress ‘veteran’ Mani Shankar Aiyar has put it in a nutshell by saying the idea is to target PM Modi as it is he who has the people’s support, not so much the BJP. That also reflects the realisation that the BJP’s fortunes in the states will not exactly represent the Lok Sabha results. The question naturally arises: how far will the interests of each party be sacrificed for this one goal? It also needs to be remembered that, despite Aiyar’s opinion, the BJP is the only party with an ideology and can, therefore, overcome adversity. Can dynastic outfits do the same? Can they take the risk of losing their identities for a larger, very likely unachievable, goal? This question will loom even larger as the Lok Sabha polls approach.
