Bhopal: A day after the Bahujan Samaj Party announced its decision to go solo in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh, the Congress put up a brave front saying it is still hopeful of entering into an electoral understanding with Mayawati’s party in the state, failing which it would go with its “Plan B” under which, to stop the splitting of non-BJP votes, it will go for a “friendly fight” with BSP in some Assembly constituencies in the state.
On Thursday, the BSP delt a blow to the Congress’ plans to sew up an alliance by announcing 22 candidates for the Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections and saying it will contest all 230 seats on its own. The party also said that it had finalised its poll alliance with Ajit Jogi’s newly floated party in Chhattisgarh.
“MP Congress chief Kamal Nath had contacted Mayawati on Thursday night and discussed the issue with her. We are still optimistic that Mayawati will reconsider her decision to go alone in MP,” a senior Congress leader told this newspaper on Friday.
The party says it is also mulling over its “Plan B” under which it will have an understanding with the BSP in some seats in MP.
On Thursday, some Congress leaders had claimed that Mayawati is under intense pressure from the BJP not to join any Opposition alliance.
“We are ready with ‘Plan B’ in case the seat-sharing talks with BSP in MP fail. We are exploring the possibility of striking a deal with the BSP to have a friendly fight with us in the Assembly constituencies where Mayawati’s party has influence to stop division of non-BJP votes,” the Congress leader disclosed.
Sources said the Congress has identified 25 Assembly seats, considered BSP pockets, to have friendly fight with the Mayawati’s party.
Seat-sharing talks between the two parties could not make headway due to the BSP’s demand for 50 seats. The Congress is not willing to share more than 24 seats. In the 2013 Assembly polls, the failure to form an alliance with the BSP had cost the Congress 41 seats.
Besides, the Congress is also considering offering its “tacit” support to the ongoing agitation against the amendment to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act by upper caste and OBCs in MP.
“People belonging to the upper caste and OBC, constituting nearly 60 per cent of the total population in MP, are considered the BJP’s vote bank, particularly in urban areas. Congress can cause erosion of the saffron vote bank by giving tacit support to the stir,” a Congress leader, who is also a poll strategist of the party, revealed.
In Chhattisgarh, the Congress has decided to review its strategy for the year-end Assembly elections following Thursday’s development. “We do not consider the alliance between BSP and Ajit Jogi’s Janata Congress Chhattisgarh (Jogi) will affect our prospects since the BJP won nine out of 10 seats reserved for SCs in the state in the last Assembly elections. However, we have decided to launch a campaign that Mayawati was under compulsion not to have alliance with Congress due to pressure by BJP-led NDA at the Centre to woo the SC people,” spokesman of Chhattisgarh Congress said.
