Lok Sabha polls: Congress rules out national tie-up

This will give more flexibility to the party in post-poll negotiations.

The Congress today said that it would not be a party to any national-level alliance with United Progressive Alliance (UPA) partners. The Congress Working Committee (CWC), the highest policy-making body of the party, decided to enter into state-specific seat-sharing agreements with partner parties and not to contest the coming Lok Sabha elections as a national UPA coalition.

This will give more flexibility to the party in post-poll negotiations, feel senior party leaders. It is also being seen as hardening of the stand by the party as some if its partners like Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) want their own candidate for the prime minister’s post.

“The Congress is leading a coalition government but there will be no alliance at the national level. We already have state-level adjustments for seats with UPA partners and that will continue,” party General Secretary Janardan Dwivedi said after the CWC meeting.

According to sources in the party, most leaders felt that the 2009 elections would produce a mixed result, leading to the formation of another coalition government. The Congress is bound to lose seats in states like Haryana and Andhra Pradesh where it had an impressive tally in the previous elections. In Haryana, it had won all the 10 seats. In Andhra Pradesh, the Congress and Telangana Rashtriya Samiti coalition won 35 out of 42 seats, while in Tamil Nadu, the Congress and Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam (DMK) combination completely ousted Jayalalitha’s All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK).

In states like Rajasthan, Punjab, Orissa and West Bengal, the party hopes to win a significant number of seats which might be vital to keep its hopes alive to lead the next government.

“How can we win more seats if we contest on a limited number of seats? Also, our partners like Lalu Prasad’s Rashtriya Janata Dal or Sharad Pawar’s NCP are strong in their own states. We can’t sacrifice our seats in other states to accommodate them in the name of the UPA,” said a senior Congress leader.

According to Dwivedi, in states where the Congress doesn’t have allies, it will not seek votes for other UPA partners but only for its own candidates. This signals that the Congress feels that parties like the RJD or the NCP might field their own candidates from other states as well as they had done in some Assembly elections.

“The UPA exists in New Delhi but it is not contesting the next Lok Sabha elections,” Dwivedi said.

Party strategists point out that keeping a loose end on the alliance will help the Congress rope in coalition partners after the elections. Dwivedi, however, claimed that there was no discussion on the post-poll scenario and the prospective alliances.

Under Sonia Gandhi’s leadership, 29 members took part in the meeting. Significantly, Rahul Gandhi batted for more tickets to the youth but made it clear that this should not be “at the cost of other sections”. Sonia Gandhi also focused on the need to set up all poll-related committees as soon as possible as the party expects elections in April.