- By Nidhi Giri
- Tue, 15 Oct 2024 02:43 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, met the Congress central leadership of Maharashtra on Monday and advised them to shun overconfidence and work unitedly to achieve victory in the upcoming state Assembly polls. After a disastrous performance in Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir, the Congress leadership wants the state party unit to be cautious every step of the way.
The Election Commission (EC) will today be announcing the dates for the Maharashtra and Jharkhand Assembly elections. The top poll panel will hold a press conference at 3:30 pm to apprise about the schedule of the forthcoming polls. The stage will be set for a fresh round of electoral battle.
Having managed to restrict the BJP well short of a majority in the Lok Sabha elections, the Congress went into the Assembly elections in Haryana and J&K on a confident note but the outcome had been morale sapping and debilitating for the principle Opposition force.
Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition in Maharashtra, including — the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Sharad Pawar-led NCP(SP) — are all hopeful of ousting the BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP government, taking heart from the alliance’s better than expected showing in the Lok Sabha elections.
The MVA registered a remarkable performance in the Lok Sabha elections, eclipsing the BJP-Sena-NCP’s Mahayuti coalition. The Congress is eyeing more seats after its impressive performance in Maharashtra. The NCP(SP) and the Sena (UBT), too, are gearing up for some tough bargaining. The Haryana verdict and the Jammu results, in a way, have robbed the Congress of bragging rights.
The Congress had won 13 of the 30 seats secured by the INDIA bloc in Maharashtra in the Lok Sabha polls. The Sena (UBT) and the NCP(SP) won nine and eight seats each. The other contentious issue is regarding the projection of a chief ministerial face. The Sena (UBT) is keen that Uddhav Thackeray is named the CM face but the Congress is reluctant over it. Having emerged as the single largest party in the Lok Sabha elections, the Congress is fancying its chances to occupy the top post in the event of the alliance coming to power in the state.
In the Congress leadership’s Monday meeting with Maharashtra leaders, the unanimous view that emerged was that the alliance need not project a CM face. The Congress wants to contest in as many as 110-115 seats of the total 288, leaving 90-95 seats for the Sena (UBT) and 80-85 seats for the NCP (SP). The elections in both the states are crucial for both the BJP and the INDIA bloc at the national level.