Opposition won’t announce a PM candidate for 2019: Congress sources
Politics

Opposition won’t announce a PM candidate for 2019: Congress sources

Rahul Gandhi won’t be pitched opposite Prime Minister Modi in next year’s elections, party’s focus to be on forming alliances.

   
Rahul Gandhi at an election campaign rally in Ahmedabad | Getty Images

Rahul Gandhi at an election campaign rally in Ahmedabad | Getty Images

Rahul Gandhi won’t be pitched opposite Prime Minister Modi in next year’s elections, party’s focus to be on forming alliances in states.

New Delhi: The opposition will not name a prime ministerial candidate to run against Narendra Modi in 2019. Top Congress sources confirmed this to ThePrint, echoing the line earlier taken by West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress president Mamata Banerjee.

Congress sources said the party will not pitch its chief, Rahul Gandhi, opposite Modi.

“We are preparing our strategy for the Lok Sabha elections in two stages. The first will be to fight the elections together with other parties to defeat the BJP. The question of who will be the PM would be decided at a later stage,” said a senior Congress leader.

However, the party feels that the Congress’ performance will improve significantly from its worst-ever mark of 44 seats in 2014.


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Strategic understandings

The Congress is focussing most of its attention on forming alliances to take on the BJP in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Maharashtra, since a defeat for the ruling party in these three states would give the opposition a solid chance.

Congress sources claim that a strategic understanding has been reached between the Congress, Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party, Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party and Ajit Singh’s Rashtriya Lok Dal to fight the elections together. Only the seat distribution remains to be decided, and talks are on at the highest level.

“If the alliance proceeds as planned in UP, the BJP won’t even be able to win five seats,” said a top Congress source.

In Bihar, the party is all set to go with Lalu Prasad Yadav’s Rashtriya Janata Dal, while in Maharashtra, its reformed alliance with Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party will challenge the BJP.

Sources have ruled out any alliance with the Shiv Sena, which is the BJP’s partner but insists it will go it alone in the Lok Sabha polls and the assembly elections next year. Recently, Congress president Rahul Gandhi greeted Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on his birthday for the first time, giving rise to speculation that the party might also include the right-wing party in the alliance against the BJP.

In Delhi, the party has insisted that no alliance will take place with the ruling Aam Aadmi Party.

“Usually, the party goes by the recommendation of the state unit,” said a senior Congress leader, pointing out that senior state Congress leaders such as Ajay Makan and Sheila Dikshit have already spoken against any alliance with AAP.

However, the Congress is still undecided over West Bengal, where its state unit has been advocating against allying with the ruling TMC.


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