In poll season, regional outfits scout for allies

While regional parties are looking for allies for the upcoming elections in key states, national parties are not in a position to fight this battle on their own. Talk of a “tactical understanding” with anti-BJP parties has begun in the Congress in Assam as the party high command is relying on chief minister Tarun Gogoi, while the BJP could ally with minor regional parties in Assam and Tamil Nadu.

But regional parties like the AIADMK, DMK and Trinamul Congress are keen on having allies in this battle after realising that polarisation and the incumbency factor could damage their electoral prospects. If Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi will be his party’s star campaigner in the Assembly elections in five states, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar could address meetings for the Trinamul Congress in West Bengal. However, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal is unlikely to campaign for the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamul as he wants to keep both the Trinamul Congress and the Left in good humour.

Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav, JD(S) leader and former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda are not in demand while BJD chief and Orissa chief minister Naveen Patnaik hardly goes outside his state to campaign for other parties.

According to reports, Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa appears to be open to tie-ups for the Tamil Nadu polls. The AIADMK general council has authorised Ms Jayalalithaa to take all election-related decisions. On the other hand, the DMK has already started wooing potential allies. Smaller players like the VCK, MDMK, the Left, DMDK, PMK, Tamil Maanila Congress and the Manithaneya Makkal Katchi could influence the polls if they come together. While the AIADMK needs fewer allies, the DMK wants the right combination, and the Congress and BJP’s priority is to increase their numbers because these two national parties have been faceless and have not been identified with regional aspirations.

In Assam, the ruling Congress does not want a Bihar-type grand alliance, but it is keen on some “understanding” with friendly parties to defeat the BJP. Assam CM Tarun Gogoi recently clarified the party’s line, saying the Congress is in talks with the Badruddin Ajmal-led AIUDF, which has a significant base among the state’s over 34 per cent Muslim population, but he feels the party is “soft” towards the BJP.

“I am not talking about political alliance. I am talking about some kind of understanding. Not a grand alliance like Bihar. That is not possible in Assam, because if we go in for an alliance we will have to forgo many seats in many areas where we are strong,” he told PTI.

In West Bengal, the Left sees the Congress as a “like-minded” party in its effort to defeat the Trinamul Congress, the Congress breakaway group that ousted the Left from power in West Bengal after more than three decades.