Will joining Shiv Sena-NCP alliance help revive Congress or damage it further nationally?

Illustration by Soham Sen | ThePrint

The political deadlock in Maharashtra continues even as Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray met senior leaders of Maharashtra Congress and claimed talks were heading in the “right direction”. Congress leader Ahmed Patel, however, maintained a final decision can be taken only when the three parties – NCP, Sena and Congress – arrive at a common minimum programme.  

ThePrint asks: Will joining Shiv Sena-NCP alliance help revive Congress or damage it further nationally?

Joining hands with Hindutva-driven Shiv Sena will dent Congress image in Maharashtra and nationally

Sanjay Nirupam
Former President, Mumbai Regional Congress Committee

The mandate given by Maharashtra voters to the Congress was not to form the government, but to sit in the opposition. The Shiv Sena and the BJP are responsible for the political instability prevailing in Maharashtra.

However, Congress has no moral responsibility to form the government in Maharashtra or provide political stability. It has been approached by Sena to join them to form a government along with the NCP, but I’m against it.

The Shiv Sena and the Congress are ideologically different. The Sena is a hardcore Hindutva party, and we are a hardcore secular party. The two parties differ on many issues that need to be sorted out before aligning with the Sena. The question, however, is whether the Shiv Sena is ready to shed its Hindutva ideology? Joining hands with the Shiv Sena will create everyday problems as far as ideological differences are concerned.

If the Congress, the NCP and the Shiv Sena join hands, we will be playing 33-per cent role each because by and large these parties have the same strength. It is an old saying that two is a company, three is a crowd.

In the current situation, if any mid-term polls take place, the voter’s anger will be against the Sena and the BJP. However, if by forming the government with the NCP and the Shiv Sena, the Congress still fails to provide a stable government, it will lose public support in the next assembly elections.

Joining hands with the Shiv Sena will dent Congress’ image in Maharashtra and nationally.

If Congress joins Shiv Sena-NCP alliance, it’ll be like sleeping with the enemy

Shaina NC
Spokesperson, BJP

It is not for me to speculate whether the Congress should ally with the Shiv Sena. But having said that, the people of Maharashtra have given the mandate to the Mahayuti (the grand alliance of the BJP and the Shiv Sena) and not the Maha Aghadi (grand front of the NCP and the Congress). In that respect, the people have voted for us. Now suddenly, if an alliance partner believes that only the chief minister’s post is important, then that becomes a disservice to the people who voted us to power.

Had the BJP fought elections with the NCP, or had the Shiv Sena done so, the public probably wouldn’t have voted for us.

If the Congress decides to join the Shiv Sena-NCP alliance, it will be almost like sleeping with the enemy. I don’t understand their thought process. Obviously, the BJP and the Shiv Sena fought against the NCP and the Congress to come to power, so how does it make sense for the Sena to ally with them for the CM’s post? They are basically saying to hell with people’s mandate – the seat is all that matters.

Congress aligning with Shiv Sena will split Hindu votes. This can benefit grand old party

Hemant Desai
Political Analyst

I believe the Congress can be revived if it joins the Shiv Sena-NCP alliance. Ideologically, there are differences between the Shiv Sena and the Congress on several issues, including reservation for Muslims.

But the current Congress cadre is completely demoralised, with influential state leaders like Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil joining the BJP. In the 2019 Maharashtra assembly election, the Congress’ tally went up by just two seats.

Over the years, many Congress leaders have been able to expand their vote base with the help of cooperative factories, societies and co-operative banks. If they don’t join the government, they won’t be able to get subsidies and other benefits for their vote base.

Also, with the Congress adopting ‘soft Hindutva’ nationally, it doesn’t really stand to lose by joining hands with the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra. The Congress is anyway in a very bad shape in most states. In fact, more Hindus from lower castes may turn towards the Congress if it joins the alliance.

If the Congress aligns with the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra, there will be a split in the Hindu votes and the former could gain from it.

If Shiv Sena exits NDA, it will be a feather in Congress’ cap. But Congress should let state leadership decide

Sushmita Dev
President, All India Mahila Congress

Joining hands with the Shiv Sena has both merits and demerits.  I am aware there are some people who want the Congress to form the government in Maharashtra with the NCP and the Shiv Sena with the hopes of countering the BJP.

There are some Congress leaders who feel the party should come up with a formula with the Sena to ensure that the BJP does not form the government. There’s the other view that if we come up with a formula, however strong, in the long run, we may stand to lose.

I do not know yet what the final decision will be. But I definitely think that it will be about striking a very fine balance. I think the two key factors that will be decisive are what the state leadership of Congress says and what the Delhi high command says.

I feel the Congress members should let the state leadership take a call. If the Shiv Sena exits the NDA, it will be a feather in our cap. The fact that the BJP was unable to form the government in the second-largest state is another feather.

The Congress wants to be in a position to form the government in Maharashtra with the NCP in the next term. Whether we like it or not, the decisions we make now will have some impact five years from now.

Possibility of Congress-Shiv Sena alliance presupposes there’s ideological integrity in Indian politics

Neelanjan Sircar
Senior visiting fellow, CPR

The last few state assembly elections in Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan show that national and state politics can be quite different. I’m not sure we can draw national consequences from what the Congress chooses to do regionally. A stronger predictor of performance in assembly polls (not just for the Congress) seems to be a popular state-level leader leading the party and a stronger party organisation.

With regard to Maharashtra, the politics is now sufficiently muddled that one should refrain from over-interpreting the Congress’ decisions. Some may wonder why the Congress would join hands with the Shiv Sena on ideological grounds, but this presupposes that there is some genuine ideological integrity to Indian politics. Any number of coalition governments, like the former BJP-PDP alliance in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, would bust that myth.

The bigger problem for the Congress is an organisational one. The Congress has seen several high-profile defections in the run up to state assembly elections, and its ground-level organisation pales in comparison to the BJP or many other regional parties. A manifestation of this problem was seen in Maharashtra with the BJP winning 67 per cent of head-to-head contests against the Congress and a lower 55 per cent against the NCP.

By Taran Deol, journalist at ThePrint