There is a war of words currently ongoing in Punjab between the leaders of Aam Aadmi Party and the Congress state unit with each attempting to portray the ability of remaining a solo player there.

Ever since the AAP led by its Convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal associated with the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (I.N.D.I.A) platform of 28 political parties opposed to the Bharatiya Janata Party, the question uppermost in the minds of people is — Can AAP and the Congress have amicable seat-sharing arrangement in Punjab and Delhi?

For the nascent AAP, these are the only two states where the party has a government and in both the places it came by knocking off the Congress from the pole position. Interestingly, even before the AAP joined INDI Alliance the Congress leadership in these states have been vocal criticising the Kejriwal-led Party.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge met Punjab state unit leaders who conveyed the untenability of any arrangement in the state. Having lost power in the State, the Congress is now pro-active in its role as a party in the opposition seeking to create space for itself in the wake of competition from the regional Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal).

For the Congress, those vehemently opposed to any understanding include its state unit president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring and Legislative Assembly leader Pratap Singh Bajwa. Joining the wordy duel from AAP was its Punjab minister Anmol Gagan stating the party will have no truck with the Congress while Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann remained non-committal dismissing questions on seat-sharing as ‘hypothetical’.

Mann went on to remind that the party worked hard on its own to secure a 92-seat majority in 117-strong Punjab assembly and 60+ seats in the 70-member Delhi Assembly and 13 percent vote share in Gujarat assembly polls which catapulted AAP to national party status.

The constant engagement between the state leadership can be best described as natural. In the absence of a formal declaration of any poll understanding, these state leaders will continue to take strident positions. These statements will create a condition in which either party will engage in hard bargain.

It is not the first time that Punjab Congress leaders adopt such an attitude. Even in earlier days, the then Congress Chief Minister Amarinder Singh took a strong line even as the Congress central leadership initiated talks for seat-sharing with the other like-minded parties.

Eventually, it is up to the central leadership of the Congress and the AAP to arrive at an agreement which of course would be hammered out by those leaders of either state who are entrusted with the task.

Meanwhile, former cricketer-turned-politician, Navjot Sidhu and his wife have come out in support of working out an agreement. The message was that individual leaders should rise above local politics and work for the larger goal.

The situation can be likened to what the Delhi Congress too underwent. Former MPs Ajay Maken and Sandeep Dikshit, remain against any arrangement with the AAP in the city. Yet, by appointing former Delhi Minister Arvinder Singh Lovely as the city unit chief, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge sent a signal that the party is open to work out an arrangement with AAP.

It is understandable for state leadership of political parties to dig in their heels. After all, it requires years of hard work and reaching out to people by taking up issues of concern that a party can create space for itself. A poor understanding leads to confusion among people and more among the ordinary workers.

The challenge for state leaders is to make the cadres, who are intrinsically opposed to other political parties, to bury these differences and work cohesively. For instance, it would be difficult for the Congress or AAP leaders in the State who take up issues against one another to now instruct the army of workers to cooperate during elections.

On the other hand, the central leaderships’ vision to have a grand alliance and work for its electoral success requires deft handling and a strong narrative. The ability of the leadership to make its field commanders to accept a poll arrangement in the form of seat sharing/seat adjustments and convince them to walk in the direction is what makes a difference.

As is known, from a number of similar arrangements elsewhere, mere pooling of parties does not translate into collection of votes in favour of such an alliance. Besides the maths, what is important is the chemistry that would bond the disparate political groups and overall atmosphere to make a difference. In the next few weeks, the INDI Alliance leadership would be navigating the terrain and avoid stepping on any landmine that could explode and damage prospects.

—The author, KV Prasad, is a senior journalist and has earlier worked with The Hindu and The Tribune. Views expressed are personal.

Read his previous articles here

(Edited by : C H Unnikrishnan)

First Published:Sept 11, 2023 9:28 AM IST