Congress president Sonia Gandhi has already held a round of discussion with leaders of all major Opposition parties, including Bihar CM Nitish Kumar and NCP chief Sharad Pawar. The effort is to put up a joint candidate against the NDA nominee in an election where members of the state legislative assemblies and both Houses of Parliament constitute the Electoral College.
Even in the Karnataka by-election earlier this month, the Congress could win in both the Assembly segments because the JD(S) did not field a candidate. "And after winning the elections, Congress leaders went about town declaring the party will go alone in the general elections slated next year,” says a JD(S) leader.
Clearly, a larger opposition unity is being worked out and Presidential elections will be its first test. Even fierce adversaries like the BSP and the Samajwadi Party have expressed their willingness to join a larger non-BJP front at the Centre.
As the grand old party counted its losses in the MCD elections, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters party spokesperson gave a clarion call to regional parties, especially from the Janata stock, to shed their ‘anti-Congressism’ to take on the BJP.
But the moot question amid these negotiations remains the leadership issue. Is the Congress party willing to concede larger space or at least offer joint leadership to smaller parties?
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