UP decimation could spur a grand alliance to counter BJP
NEW DELHI: As the opposition picks up the pieces after BJP's thumping win in UP, the idea of a "mahagathbandhan" is gaining currency in Congress with a view that anti-BJP parties will increasingly see mutual cooperation and alliances as their only option for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
Top Congress managers told TOI that a grand alliance of SP, BSP and Congress may emerge from the rubble of the UP decimation which has left no party with the "illusion" that it can fight BJP led by PM Narendra Modi alone.
BJP won an overwhelming three-fourths majority in the politically crucial state with 403 assembly and 80 Lok Sabha seats, reducing reigning regional outfits led by Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati to second and third positions.
With the latest results reinforcing the 2014 Lok Sabha tally —NDA won 73 seats, SP picked up just five and Congress two — the discussion in Congress is veering around to the need to explore a joint strategy.
With a second successive election in UP showing BJP has opened up what seems like an unbridgeable advantage over rivals, there is a push for changing tack.
The possibility of a major opposition gang-up has not escaped BJP either as a senior leader from UP said the saffron party may have to look at further raising its vote share from the current 40% by the time the next national election comes along.
Congress sources said once the shock wave unleashed by the UP results subsided, informal talks could be initiated to broach a "mahagathbandhan" with SP and BSP. The mutual rivalry and animosity between SP and BSP, and the conflicts between their social bases, has kept a grand alliance at bay for long.
It was a major reason why the successful RJD-JD(U)-Congress experiment of Bihar could not be repeated in UP.
Asked about the possibility of a grand alliance, Congress general secretary C P Joshi said, "We will do everything that is required to challenge and expose Modi's politics but it will depend on state-specific political challenges. It can vary from state to state. We will see to it that in 2019, we give a formidable challenge to Modi."
The SP and Congress tie-up made UP a three-cornered contest to BJP's advantage.
Top Congress managers told TOI that a grand alliance of SP, BSP and Congress may emerge from the rubble of the UP decimation which has left no party with the "illusion" that it can fight BJP led by PM Narendra Modi alone.
BJP won an overwhelming three-fourths majority in the politically crucial state with 403 assembly and 80 Lok Sabha seats, reducing reigning regional outfits led by Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati to second and third positions.
With the latest results reinforcing the 2014 Lok Sabha tally —NDA won 73 seats, SP picked up just five and Congress two — the discussion in Congress is veering around to the need to explore a joint strategy.
With a second successive election in UP showing BJP has opened up what seems like an unbridgeable advantage over rivals, there is a push for changing tack.
The possibility of a major opposition gang-up has not escaped BJP either as a senior leader from UP said the saffron party may have to look at further raising its vote share from the current 40% by the time the next national election comes along.
Congress sources said once the shock wave unleashed by the UP results subsided, informal talks could be initiated to broach a "mahagathbandhan" with SP and BSP. The mutual rivalry and animosity between SP and BSP, and the conflicts between their social bases, has kept a grand alliance at bay for long.
It was a major reason why the successful RJD-JD(U)-Congress experiment of Bihar could not be repeated in UP.
Asked about the possibility of a grand alliance, Congress general secretary C P Joshi said, "We will do everything that is required to challenge and expose Modi's politics but it will depend on state-specific political challenges. It can vary from state to state. We will see to it that in 2019, we give a formidable challenge to Modi."
The SP and Congress tie-up made UP a three-cornered contest to BJP's advantage.
More from Uttar Pradesh Election
- BJP chief Amit Shah virtually rules out Keshav Prasad Maurya from UP CM race
- UP village tense after bid to hoist BJP flag on mosque
- Akhilesh Yadav, Shivpal Yadav under one roof after 104 days
- BJP & allies in UP win 224 seats with over 20,000 margin
- Post-UP high, PM Narendra Modi asks MPs to begin work for 2019
