‘Indira seen in her, Priyanka task cut out’, ‘Does Cong playing second fiddle help INDIA in long run’
With barely a few weeks to go for the Assembly elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand — and many bypolls across the country — the Urdu dailies kept their focus on intense jostling among parties or their alliances over seat-sharing. Over the week these players remained engaged in tough negotiations and hard bargaining to get a better deal, which went down to the wire. The dailies also tracked several rebel candidates from leading contenders, who have thrown their hats into the ring as Independents after being denied tickets.
SIASAT
Referring to All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s nomination in the November 13 Lok Sabha bypoll from Kerala’s Wayanad constituency, the Hyderabad-based Siasat, in its October 24 editorial, talks about Priyanka’s electoral debut after long being involved in Congress campaigns in different capacities, and says: “Priyanka is a key Congress face who enjoys remarkable popularity. It also says that Priyanka made an impact in recent polls by reaching out to the people and raising their issues strongly while keeping her guns trained on the BJP. “Her entry into the Lok Sabha would enthuse the Congress ranks in the House, while galvanising the party rank and file in states.” Underlining that the Gandhi family remains at the heart of Congress politics, the editorial states, “Priyanka seems to be especially popular with people as she connects with them naturally, listens to their grievances and seeks their redressal. Many see Indira Gandhi’s image in Priyanka, hoping that she would prove to be the inheritor of her political legacy.”
Indicating that the Wayanad bypoll’s outcome is a foregone conclusion, it says her task would be cut out when she becomes a public representative. “This would boost the Congress not only in Kerala or in South India, but in other states too,” the edit says. While the BJP dominates North India, it says, the Congress looks strong in the South, where the party has been in power in Karnataka and Telangana. “The Assembly polls in Kerala are not very far. Priyanka’s win from Wayanad would brighten the Congress’s prospects in the Left-ruled state.”
SALAR
Highlighting the state of affairs in the INDIA alliance, the Bengaluru-based Salar, in its leader on October 28, says that while the ruling BJP suffered a setback in the Lok Sabha polls, the outcome of the recent Haryana elections has dealt a blow to the Congress, damaging its standing in the Opposition bloc. “This has now been seen in the INDIA parties’ seat-sharing for the upcoming state elections and bypolls,” it says, citing the instance of nine UP Assembly bypolls where the Samajwadi Party (SP) “unilaterally” went ahead and named its candidates. “Taken by surprise, the Congress tried to negotiate with the SP behind the scenes, but when it could not get its desired seats it was forced to retreat. The Congress then claimed that it would support the SP candidates in all the seats for the sake of protecting the Constitution.”
The edit says the Congress’s weakening position vis-a-vis its INDIA partners was also evident in their seat-sharing talks for the Maharashtra polls. “In the Lok Sabha elections, the Congress emerged as the largest party in Maharashtra with 13 seats. Its claim for the larger share in the Assembly poll seats had a strong basis. But, eventually, it was forced to broadly agree with the ’85 seats each’ formula for the three Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) partners suggested by Sharad Pawar.”
The daily says the larger question is whether the Congress’s bid to play second fiddle to its allies would benefit the INDIA alliance in the long run, although it may give a leg-up to these regional parties for now. “The point remains that the good showing of several regional Opposition parties in the Lok Sabha polls was fuelled by the Congress’s resurgence and Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatras,” it states. While this is the era of coalition, there must be a strong nucleus for any alliance to function effectively and succeed, it says. “So the Congress will have to overcome its shortcomings if it wants to ensure that the INDIA bloc remains purposeful. But this would not be possible until the party starts getting the better of the BJP in their straight electoral battles.”
INQUILAB
Commenting on the heating fray in Maharashtra on the eve of the elections, the New Delhi edition of Inquilab, in its October 27 editorial, points out that it is going to be a high-stakes face-off for several players in a state where each of its five regions — Vidarbha, Marathwada, North Maharashtra, Western Maharashtra and Konkan (including Mumbai and Thane) — are larger than several states in the country. Both the rival groups are also big alliances — the ruling Mahayuti comprising the BJP, Eknath Shinde-headed Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar-led NCP, and the Opposition MVA comprising the Congress, Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and Sharad Pawar-headed NCP (SP), the editorial notes. “The most striking thing about these polls is that two Senas and two NCPs are in the fray, ranged against each other as part of the two camps, in the wake of their virtual splits,” it says. Referring to the Lok Sabha poll results, when the MVA trumped the Mahayuti, the edit says while the incumbent coalition has more resources, the Opposition group seems to have struck a chord with the voters under the leadership of political heavyweights like Sharad Pawar and Uddhav.
The daily writes that the electoral scene in Maharashtra is still hazy, with no framing of any dominant narrative so far. “There are a multitude of election issues, ranging from Maratha quota to farm distress, unemployment and price rise to the shift of major industrial projects to Gujarat, and splits of the Sena and NCP to the contest of sops and schemes. However, none of them could be called the theme song of the polls as yet,” it states. The “sympathy factor” for Pawar and Uddhav due to the splintering of their parties by their respective rebels, Shinde and Ajit, may however turn out to be a formidable issue that could determine the outcome of the polls, the edit says.
