Congress seeks to stitch alliances in states to bust BJP's 'myth of invincibility' during 2019 poll showdown

Prime Minister Narendra Modi won’t get a second chance in office if the Congress gets its alliance game right, assert top party sources. “While the Congress is going to perform significantly better in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Punjab, the BJP will face significant losses in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Maharashtra. This will be due to alliances that the Congress will have in the states. If we have the right kind of alliances in the three states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Maharashtra, Modi won’t be the prime minister for another term. He can become the prime minister if the BJP alone wins 230 to 240 seats,” a top Congress source said. Congress’ alliance game -An alliance with the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in Uttar Pradesh is on the cards. -Co-ordination between like-minded parties is a must, and the Congress will align only with such parties. -With the RJD by its side, the Congress is also engaging in talks with parties in Bihar for alliance and seat-sharing. -In Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, the Congress is yet to finalise whether to have any alliance with the BSP or not. [caption id=“attachment_4889021” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Congress president Rahul Gandhi. Twitter/@INCIndia[/caption] -The party’s central leadership will take the final call on alliances based on its state units – Pradesh Congress Committees (PCCs). -The party’s short-term plan is to enter into alliances. -No alignment is possible with the Shiv Sena due to ideological differences. According to Congress sources, the party is in the final stages of discussion on an alliance with the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in Uttar Pradesh. Strategy to counter BJP-RSS combine -The role of the Congress will be to provide a platform to all Opposition parties, and unite them against the BJP-RSS combine. -It will seek to bring all non-BJP Opposition parties together and join hands with them to defeat Modi and the BJP. -The party will make efforts to strengthen its cadre. -It will attempt to come up with a new narrative based on the people’s reaction/anger over certain policies of the Modi government like demonetisation, GST, etc in the next three to four months. -The party will run an aggressive campaign against the Modi government’s failures in certain sectors before the 2019 election. -It will seek to take up issues related to the youth, poor people, Dalits, tribals, minorities, unemployment, agrarian distress, price rise, small traders, labourers, etc. -The party will also spell out its vision on employment to youth, education, healthcare and agriculture. The Congress is focussing on strengthening its cadre ahead of Assembly polls and the 2019 Lok Sabha election. One of the biggest strengths of the BJP at the grassroots has been the cadre of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) that has an impact at the booth level. “We want a certain number of dedicated party members to oversee the Congress organisation and strengthen it, rather than build a cadre similar to the RSS. The sole aim of the RSS is to capture institutions systematically – from the army, Supreme Court, Election Commission to important government organisations. This is a threat to institutional structures. The Congress can’t have such a system,” the party sources claimed. The party’s top leadership believes that the BJP has created a myth of invincibility around Modi, and he can be defeated by having the right kind of alliances and strategies. “A large section of people, comprising the poor, tribals, Dalits, minorities, farmers and small traders are unhappy and disturbed by some of Modi’s policies. There is visible anger amongst the people. While the two crore jobs promised by the prime minister have not been provided, there have been more job losses. The Congress will give a direction to these sentiments of distressed sections of society,” a top party source said. The second Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting headed by party president Rahul Gandhi will discuss some of these issues on Saturday, besides the issues related to the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the Rafale deal. This will be the second meeting after reconstitution of the CWC under Congress president on 17 July. The first meeting was held on 22 July. During its first CWC meeting , the Congress had authorised Rahul to decide on alliances with like-minded parties to prevent the BJP from returning to power in 2019. The Congress has been looking at state-specific alliances across the country to form a combined front against the NDA for the 2019 elections. However, during the first week of July, the party was confronted with massive rumblings within its Bengal unit, during which the state leadership was bitterly divided over alliance options. Similarly, an alliance with the BSP in Rajasthan had got stuck after the party’s Rajasthan leaders strongly opposed the move. “The final decision on alliances will be based on the feedback and reports from our state units. Instead of depending on the BJP’s failure, the Congress will provide its own vision on various issues and sectors,” the Congress source said.