INDIA Alliance: Lok Sabha elections are around the corner. The parties involved in the INDIA alliance are trying to agree on the sharing of seats.
Table of Contents
Seat Sharing in India Alliance, Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in 2024, the Aam Aadmi Party has held talks with the India Alliance partner Congress to finalize its alliance. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is eyeing to contest at least half of the 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana, mostly bordering Punjab, a senior AAP leader said on Wednesday.
However, AAP’s demand for five seats in Haryana has not gone down well with many Congress leaders, who said on condition of anonymity that their party is not very keen on giving seats to AAP given the poor performance of the Aam Aadmi Party in the last Lok Sabha.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is eyeing to contest at least half of the 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana, mostly bordering Punjab,
Aam Aadmi Party
What is going on between AAP and Congress?
At present, both parties have kept silent on seat sharing. AAP and Congress leaders say there has been no discussion on it yet. The next meeting between the two parties will be held in Delhi on Friday (January 12).
Earlier, the Congress leadership had insisted on contesting the elections alone in Haryana. Former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda had recently said, “So far, no criteria or parameter has been fixed for seat-sharing.”
A senior Aam Aadmi Party leader, who did not want to be identified, said, “When the Congress can claim Lok Sabha seats in AAP-ruled states of Delhi and Punjab, it will have to give us seats in Haryana, Goa and Gujarat, where it is in the opposition.”
Friday’s meeting will be held at the residence of senior Congress leader Mukul Wasnik, an AAP source said. He said leaders of the two parties last week met at Wasnik’s residence to discuss the seat-sharing issue but refused to have concrete talks. The meeting lasted for about two and a half hours.
Which seats can AAP demand in Haryana?
“As far as Haryana is concerned, we will give priority to Sirsa, Kurukshetra, and Ambala seats bordering Punjab and may consider contesting two more seats in the interiors of the state based on the agreement reached in the next meeting,” the AAP leader said.
How was AAP’s performance in Haryana in the last Lok Sabha elections?
In the last Lok Sabha elections, the Aam Aadmi Party had performed poorly in the three seats it contested in Haryana. AAP candidates had lost their deposits in Faridabad, Ambala, and Karnal. Despite contesting in alliance with the Jannayak Janata Party, AAP candidates together got less than 50,000 votes.
Aam Aadmi Party wants to contest four seats in Delhi
Sources claimed that AAP has expressed willingness to contest four of the seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi in alliance with the Congress. He said the Congress was keen to contest North East Delhi, Chandni Chowk, and New Delhi parliamentary seats. Sources said formal seat-sharing talks between the two parties will begin on Friday.
AAP to contest in alliance with Congress in these five states
Senior AAP leader and convener of the party’s Delhi unit Gopal Rai said his party has said it will contest elections in five states including Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat, Goa, and Delhi in alliance with the Congress. He had said that there was a need for an official position from both sides of the alliance.
On Thursday, CM Nitish Kumar reacted to the issue of seat sharing of Bihar in the ‘INDIA’ alliance. He talked about everything being on time.
INDIA Alliance
There is a ruckus about the seats of Bihar in the ‘India’ alliance. The JD(U) has been accusing the ‘India’ alliance of delaying the seat-sharing issue. At the same time, CM Nitish Kumar reacted to this issue on Thursday. “Don’t worry. All will be on time. On this statement of CM Nitish, it is being said that the confusion arising about the seat of Bihar is now beginning to be resolved.
Confusion about Bihar’s seat in ‘India’!
According to the information received, there is a lot of churning going on for seat sharing of Bihar in the ‘INDIA alliance‘. The top high command of the major party in Delhi is also discussing this, but JDU is not ready to compromise on the seat. This is causing trouble for the RJD and Congress. However, in the meantime, CPI has also announced to contest three seats.
At the same time, JDU says that our agreement is with RJD. All parties were already associated with RJD. JDU is on 16 seats and 24 seats for all other parties.
Seat sharing is getting delayed: JDU
At the same time, the Bihar Congress is not in a hurry for seat sharing. Congress state president Akhilesh Prasad Singh has said that the election has not even been announced yet, so there is no need to hurry. Everything will be relaxed. Meanwhile, after the statement of the Congress state president.
Bihar minister and JDU leader Shravan Kumar said on Wednesday that there is a delay, but everyone should try to do it properly. There is a slight problem with the delay that is happening, it should be resolved.
CM Mamata Banerjee’s TMC has given a seat-sharing formula to the Congress, which is part of the opposition alliance India. Congress does not agree to this.
Trinmool Congress party
Given the Lok Sabha elections, the Congress is holding frequent meetings with the parties involved in the opposition alliance India regarding seat sharing. Meanwhile, sources said that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress (TMC) will not hold a meeting with the Congress regarding seat sharing.
Quoting TMC sources, the party will not send any leader to the Congress National Alliance Committee meeting. This is because TMC has agreed to give only 2 out of 42 Lok Sabha seats in Bengal to Congress.
The Congress said that they were not ready because there were very few seats. In such a situation, it is very difficult to accept it. At the same time, sources had told ABP News that the Congress demands to contest 6 to 10 seats in Bengal.
What did TMC say?
A senior TMC leader said that the offer of two seats to the Congress has been given keeping in view the last Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. He said that out of 42 seats, Congress got less than five percent votes in 39 seats.
The Congress got 2.93 percent votes in the 2021 assembly election. The party got 12.25 percent votes in 2016. In such a situation, the Congress leadership has to accept that it is a weak party in Bengal.
TMC wants to contest elections from other states as well
Sources associated with TMC said that only party chief Mamata Banerjee can change the seat-sharing formula of Bengal. Apart from this, the party also wants to contest one seat each in Meghalaya and Assam.
This is coming out at a time when recently Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said that Mamata Banerjee is saying that she will give us 2 seats in Bengal. There have been Congress MPs on this seat. In such a situation, what is TMC giving new?
The National Alliance Committee of the Congress has so far held meetings with Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena, Sharad Pawar’s NCP, RJD, Samajwadi Party, and Aam Aadmi Party.
INDIA Aliance
Mamata Banerjee’s stand against CPM has special intentions.
Seat-sharing agreement at state level
On this basis, it would be appropriate to say that the agreement on seat sharing of all the parties in the opposition alliance ‘India’ can or will be made only at the state level. The prescription for seat sharing lies in the political equations of a particular state and what kind of political status or current mass base the parties involved in the coalition have in that state.
Controversy over seat sharing in West Bengal
All the parties involved in the coalition are also meeting in the states for this. In some states, the task of seat sharing is going to be very complicated. Two such states are Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. According to the current situation, what kind of agreement is formed between the Samajwadi Party and the Congress in Uttar Pradesh, is being looked at by the common people as well as political analysts.
The reason for Mamata Banerjee’s stubborn attitude
Apart from Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal is the only state where there is a possibility of more tussle over the agreement on seat sharing. Along with Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress, the Congress and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPI (M) are part of the opposition alliance ‘India’.
Among them, Mamata Banerjee has been at the head of West Bengal politics since 2011. At the same time, the CPI (M), which has been in power in West Bengal for 34 years, is now battling for its survival in the state. At least this can be said from the results of the assembly and Lok Sabha elections held in the last decade. With this, the Congress, which ruled West Bengal before 1977, is now desperate for one seat here.
Mamata Banerjee tough on CPI(M)
Under the ‘India’ alliance, in the general elections, in 2024, there should have been a seat sharing between the TMC as well as the Congress and the CPI(M) in West Bengal. But the stand of West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee has complicated the matter. Mamata Banerjee has made it clear in a way that the TMC, though part of the ‘India’ alliance, will never contest elections in alliance with the CPI (M) in West Bengal.
Along with this, it is also beginning to be guessed from Mamata Banerjee’s stand that TMC will be ready to leave at most two or three seats for the Congress. Behind this stand of Mamata Banerjee is the concern about the future of the Trinamool Congress.
Mamata wants seat-sharing as per her wishes
Keeping this in mind, Mamata Banerjee wants to share seats in West Bengal in the Lok Sabha elections under the opposition alliance ‘India’. All parties, including the Congress, want to reach a consensus in every state as soon as possible on seat sharing. In such a situation, Mamata Banerjee said in a strict tone on 9 January that TMC cannot have any kind of alliance with CPI (M) here.
Given the future strategy, Mamata Banerjee even called the CPI(M) a terrorist party. She went to the extent of saying in Jayanagar in South 24 Parganas that the CPI (M)…It is helping the BJP. This statement of Mamata Banerjee about CPI (M) is part of a well-thought-out strategy.
Importance of CPI(M) a threat to TMC
Due to the rise of the BJP in West Bengal, two types of danger have arisen in front of Mamata Banerjee. Mamata Banerjee wants to curb the growing support base of BJP in West Bengal. Along with this, Mamata Banerjee is also constantly trying to prevent the rise of CPI (M) in West Bengal again.
Mamata Banerjee is well aware that the chances of the rise of the Congress in West Bengal are very low. On the other hand, if given the opportunity, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) can regain its old status.
CPI (M) is missing from everywhere
Similarly, in the Lok Sabha elections, the CPI(M) was gradually wiped out. In the 2009 general elections, when the CPI(M) was in power in West Bengal, it managed to win 9 out of 42 seats. Although Mamata Banerjee’s party had captured the maximum 19 seats in this election, the CPI (M) was ahead in terms of vote share. The TMC’s vote share in this election was 31.2%, while the CPI(M) got 33.1%.
After this election, the CPI(M) started a bad day in the Lok Sabha as well. In the 2014 general elections, the CPI(M) won just two seats with a vote share of 23%. In the 2019 general elections, the CPI (M) was wiped out in West Bengal. It did not win a single seat and its vote share was also 6.33%.
These figures show that the CPI (M) does not exist in the Legislative Assembly as well as the Lok Sabha in West Bengal. The vote share base has shrunk as well. Mamata Banerjee is trying to maintain this position of CPI (M) in the future as well. The rise of the Trinamool Congress has been due to the opposition of the CPI (M) and the Congress in West Bengal.
Mamata Banerjee has been in power since 2011 by creating an atmosphere against the CPI (M) and the Congress among the people of the state.
Threat to BJP, Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal
With this aspect, Mamata Banerjee does not want to give any such opportunity in the name of an opposition alliance, which will strengthen the BJP’s prospects in West Bengal. The BJP has set a target of winning 30 to 35 out of 42 seats in West Bengal in this Lok Sabha election and is constantly engaged in creating an atmosphere against the TMC.
When Mamata Banerjee was ousting the CPM (I) in 2011, the BJP’s political standing in West Bengal was negligible. In West Bengal, the BJP contested 289 assembly seats in 2011, but could not win any seat. Its vote share was also just four percent. In the 2016 assembly elections, the BJP fielded candidates in 293 seats.
Although BJP won only 3 seats, for the first time in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly elections, BJP’s vote share went above 10%. The BJP realized that it would get the benefit of the continued weakening of the CPI (M) and the Congress in the state. This happened gradually.
State’s political equation in favor of TMC
In West Bengal, if Mamata Banerjee fights together with the Congress and CPI (M), it will increase the BJP’s troubles, there is no scope for doubt about it. This can also create such a possibility that in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the BJP will be reduced to 5 to 10 seats in West Bengal or even fewer seats. For this, the Congress will have to sacrifice.
As things stand, the more seats Mamata Banerjee’s party contests in West Bengal, the more likely the BJP will lose. Conversely, the more seats the Congress demands in the name of alliance, the more it will benefit the BJP. The reality in West Bengal is that the TMC candidate is very likely to win, while given the position of the Congress, its candidate is very unlikely to win.
Mamata Banerjee wants the Congress to contest very few seats in West Bengal, keeping this aspect in mind.
The very difficult time for Congress in the state
However, from the statements of Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, the biggest leader of the Congress in the state, it seems that he is not going to agree with Mamata Banerjee’s formula of two or three seats. If the Congress continues to insist on more seats in West Bengal, it will directly benefit the BJP and not the Congress or the INDIA alliance.
Under the current situation of the Congress in West Bengal, it can be said that there is not a single seat where the Congress is guaranteed to win on its own. Even if the Congress gets to contest some seats under the alliance, it is not guaranteed that the votes of TMC supporters in those seats can get the Congress candidate.
The condition of the Congress in West Bengal is equally pathetic at the moment. The Congress base in West Bengal, like the CPI (M), is on the verge of extinction. Looking at the kind of atmosphere that has been created in West Bengal in the last decade, it can be said that TMC and BJP are going to be at the center of electoral power in West Bengal politics for many years to come.
There is no place for the CPI (M) and the Congress remotely.
At Last From aAditri Digital
In the lead-up to the Lok Sabha elections, the political landscape in India witnesses intricate negotiations between parties. The Aam Aadmi Party’s aspirations for five seats in Haryana face resistance from Congress, unveiling underlying tensions. The evolving dynamics in seat-sharing discussions reveal the complex interplay of regional interests. Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress adopts a tough stance, reflecting concerns about BJP’s rise and its own political survival in West Bengal. Amidst uncertainties, the alliance-building process underscores the strategic calculations of parties, with seat-sharing becoming a litmus test for their collaborative potential and individual electoral strengths.
Leave a Reply