02-01-2005, 11:53 PM
From Deccan.com, 1 Feb., 2005
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New Delhi, Jan. 31: <b>The Congress is seriously contemplating a mid-term Lok Sabha election in 2006, if it succeeds in reviving the party in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. The four States are the targets of the current Congress strategy directed at capturing a majority in the Lok Sabha, with party president Sonia Gandhi as Prime Minister.</b>
HRD Minister Arjun Singh is being credited with the ga-meplan to revive the party in these States as a precursor to early Lok Sabha elections. <b>The decision to disturb the coalition with the RJD in Bihar by contesting the Asse-mbly elections separately was taken by the top leadership of the Congress in a bid to âtest the watersâ in the State. </b>The results will determine the Congress strategy for UP, where sufficient indications are being given by the party, including Sonia Gan-dhi and son Rahul Gandhi, that they would like to withdraw support to the Mulayam Singh Yadav government.
<b>The Congress now appears to be a party in a hurry with the strategy of revival, as the sources put it, centering on the âstrike while the iron is hotâ assessment. The party is keen to move out of the coalition which it views as an âirksome necessityâ and cash in on the goodwill for Sonia before the vote turns away from the party.</b> The Congress is reportedly of the view that âthe national mood is in our favourâ, and wants to present itself as the alternative, minus the burden of coalition, before time changes public opinion.
<b>Interestingly, not a single Congress leader spoken to from the Centre or the States was of the view that a mid-term poll was not on the cards. All said that this was inevitable, with 2006 cited as the year for âactionâ. </b>The only difference was that wh-ile some leaders were of the view that the poll could be held along with that of West Bengal in March next year, most favoured a later date in the year. But again, all party leaders were agreed that fissures would dent the Congr-ess-Left relations before the Bengal elections. Economic policies is the other area of contention, with financial ex-perts in the Congress keen to part ways with the Left as a prerequisite for âindependentâ functioning.
In Madhya Pradesh, the Congress is optimistic about benefiting directly from the anti-incumbency factor, whi-ch it expects will help it improve its position in the Lok Sabha elections as well. <b>In Gujarat, the Congress has decided to organise the âDandi marchâ in order to project itself as an alternative to the BJP government.</b>
<b>The Congress has also taken a decision to keep away from a minority agenda. </b>Even in Gujarat, the message of the Dandi march will be national integration and not the rehabilitation of the Muslims or the cases under trial.<b> Leaders from the regional parties in coalition said that they were aware of the Cong-ressâ new strategy, maintaining, however, that this stems from Sonia Gandhiâs desire to become Prime Minister. </b>
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<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Congress may call for a snap poll
Â
New Delhi, Jan. 31: <b>The Congress is seriously contemplating a mid-term Lok Sabha election in 2006, if it succeeds in reviving the party in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. The four States are the targets of the current Congress strategy directed at capturing a majority in the Lok Sabha, with party president Sonia Gandhi as Prime Minister.</b>
HRD Minister Arjun Singh is being credited with the ga-meplan to revive the party in these States as a precursor to early Lok Sabha elections. <b>The decision to disturb the coalition with the RJD in Bihar by contesting the Asse-mbly elections separately was taken by the top leadership of the Congress in a bid to âtest the watersâ in the State. </b>The results will determine the Congress strategy for UP, where sufficient indications are being given by the party, including Sonia Gan-dhi and son Rahul Gandhi, that they would like to withdraw support to the Mulayam Singh Yadav government.
<b>The Congress now appears to be a party in a hurry with the strategy of revival, as the sources put it, centering on the âstrike while the iron is hotâ assessment. The party is keen to move out of the coalition which it views as an âirksome necessityâ and cash in on the goodwill for Sonia before the vote turns away from the party.</b> The Congress is reportedly of the view that âthe national mood is in our favourâ, and wants to present itself as the alternative, minus the burden of coalition, before time changes public opinion.
<b>Interestingly, not a single Congress leader spoken to from the Centre or the States was of the view that a mid-term poll was not on the cards. All said that this was inevitable, with 2006 cited as the year for âactionâ. </b>The only difference was that wh-ile some leaders were of the view that the poll could be held along with that of West Bengal in March next year, most favoured a later date in the year. But again, all party leaders were agreed that fissures would dent the Congr-ess-Left relations before the Bengal elections. Economic policies is the other area of contention, with financial ex-perts in the Congress keen to part ways with the Left as a prerequisite for âindependentâ functioning.
In Madhya Pradesh, the Congress is optimistic about benefiting directly from the anti-incumbency factor, whi-ch it expects will help it improve its position in the Lok Sabha elections as well. <b>In Gujarat, the Congress has decided to organise the âDandi marchâ in order to project itself as an alternative to the BJP government.</b>
<b>The Congress has also taken a decision to keep away from a minority agenda. </b>Even in Gujarat, the message of the Dandi march will be national integration and not the rehabilitation of the Muslims or the cases under trial.<b> Leaders from the regional parties in coalition said that they were aware of the Cong-ressâ new strategy, maintaining, however, that this stems from Sonia Gandhiâs desire to become Prime Minister. </b>
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