Lok Sabha Election / Why did Congress not field candidates in North India, where is the problem?

Lok Sabha Election: The formal announcement of Lok Sabha elections has not been made yet, but BJP and Congress have started revealing their cards. Congress on Friday released the first list of candidates for 39 Lok Sabha seats. The party has announced the names of candidates for the seats of 8 states and 1 union territory, which includes the seats of North-Eastern states and South Indian states except Chhattisgarh. While Rahul Gandhi will again contest from Wayanad seat in Kerala, Shashi Tharoor will try his luck from Thiruvananthapuram and KC Venugopal from Alappuzha seat.

The 39 Lok Sabha seats for which Congress has announced its candidates include 6 seats in Chhattisgarh, 7 seats in Karnataka, 16 seats in Kerala, 4 seats in Telangana and 2 seats in Meghalaya. Apart from this, Lakshadweep, Tripura, Sikkim and Nagaland seats are included. In its first list, Congress has announced candidates only for the seats of North-Eastern and Southern states. In such a situation, the question arises that why Congress did not announce the names of candidates for the seats in the states of North India.

Why did Congress field candidates in the South?

Congress considered itself stronger in South India than in North India. In Telangana and Karnataka, Congress has its own government while in Tamil Nadu it is a partner in the government. Rahul Gandhi has made Kerala his political base and will once again try his luck from Wayanad. Congress has declared its candidates for 16 seats in Kerala. Of these, 14 sitting MPs are in the fray again, out of which 13 MPs have got tickets from their old seats, while the seat of one MP has changed, the ticket of two MPs has been canceled.

BJP is in a weak position in the South and Congress is competing with regional parties in most of the states. That is why Congress has first announced the names of its candidates for the seats in the states of South India. Congress has fielded candidates on 39 seats, out of which 28 seats are in the South. Apart from this, there are seats of North-East and Chhattisgarh. During Congress's 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra', Rahul Gandhi has passed through North-Eastern states and Chhattisgarh, due to which Congress has first announced the names of candidates from those states.

Why did the cards not open in North India?

The first list of Congress does not include seats from any state of North India except Chhattisgarh. The biggest reason behind this is that in states like Assam, Bengal, Bihar, Maharashtra, Jammu and Kashmir, the seat sharing of Congress with the allies of India Alliance has not been finalized yet. Bharat Jodo Yatra has just passed from Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan and the next few days the Yatra will remain in Gujarat. Therefore, the Central Election Committee meeting of Congress will be held later to finalize the names of the candidates there.

Due to the delay in seat sharing with SP in Uttar Pradesh, the final decision could not be taken on Amethi and Rae Bareli seats because the screening committee meeting could not be held. Apart from this, it is believed that out of the 17 seats that Congress has got in UP, one or two seats are to be exchanged with SP. Apart from this, Congress wants to field its veteran leaders, some of whom are not ready to contest the elections. Due to these reasons, Congress could not announce the names of candidates on the seats of Uttar Pradesh.

In Delhi and Haryana, Congress is sharing seats with Aam Aadmi Party. Congress has got three seats in Delhi, but two to three leaders are seeking tickets for each seat. The screening committee has sent the names of JP Aggarwal, Alka Lamba, Sandeep Dixit from Chandni Chowk seat, Udit Raj, Rajesh Lilothia, Rajkumar Chauhan from North West and Arvinder Lovely, Ragini Nayak and Sandeep Dixit from North East. Due to the claims of veteran leaders to contest the elections, the tickets could not be finalized. There is a similar situation in Haryana and here there is factionalism among the local leaders, with which the balance also wants to be maintained. That is why Congress is eyeing the list of BJP candidates. It is believed that after the names of BJP candidates are announced, Congress will reveal its cards.

Trouble stuck in Bihar and Jharkhand

In Bihar and Jharkhand, Congress has not yet been able to decide seat sharing with allies, due to which the names of the candidates have not been announced. Congress, RJD and left parties are part of the India alliance in Bihar. There are 40 Lok Sabha seats in the state, but the issue of seat sharing in the BJP led NDA is complicated, due to which the Indian alliance has also kept its formula on hold. The opposition is feeling that Chirag Paswan may separate from NDA and join them, hence it is in a wait and watch mood.

At the same time, there was no consensus on seat sharing in the India alliance in Jharkhand. There are 14 Lok Sabha seats in the state, out of which JMM is in a mood to contest the maximum number of seats, while Congress is also making the same demand. Congress-JMM can contest elections on 6 seats each, while RJD and Left can get one seat each. There is a meeting on Saturday to reach a consensus on the seats in Jharkhand, after which Congress will declare the names of its candidates. Even in Punjab, Congress is in a wait and watch mood.

Confusion in seat sharing in Bengal-Assam

Announcing the names of the candidates on Friday, Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal said that we are making every possible effort to go with the India alliance everywhere, but there are still some problems in some states including West Bengal, Assam. We are trying to solve them. Congress's vision is very clear that how can we reduce BJP's seats and stop it from coming to power. There is a delay in some states for this, but soon the matters will be resolved and after that the names of the candidates will be announced.

Congress on crutches in North India

Congress is in a weak position in North India, due to which it is entering the electoral fray with the help of its allies. Recently, Congress had to face defeat in the assembly elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, due to which it has entered the Lok Sabha elections with all its might. That is why Congress does not want to name the candidates in a hurry. In 2022, Congress has to face a crushing defeat in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Punjab. Congress has also lost its power in Punjab, due to which it has suffered the worst defeat in Punjab.

Congress out of power in Gujarat for three decades

Congress has been out of power in Gujarat for three decades and in the last three months, four Congress MLAs and many senior leaders have left the party. Congress is in power in Himachal, but there is political conflict due to local leaders. In such a situation, Congress does not want to give further fuel to factionalism by announcing the names of the candidates, because the Himachal government has survived after huge efforts. In these states, Congress has a direct fight with BJP and there is no regional party.

If we look at the elections of the last 5 years, before the 2019 elections, Congress was in power in four states of North India. Congress was in power in Punjab, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. But one by one all the states were snatched away. The government went down in Madhya Pradesh due to the rebellion of Congress leaders and lost the elections in other states. This time the situation was even worse in Madhya Pradesh. The result was that apart from Himachal Pradesh, Congress is no longer in power in any state of North India.

Congress is making bold moves in North India

In 2019, Congress could not even open its account in Delhi, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Haryana. The situation was almost the same in 2014 also. Apart from this, Congress got one seat each in Uttar Pradesh, MP and Bihar, while in Chhattisgarh it had to be satisfied with two seats. If we want to stop BJP from coming to power in 2024, then its seats in these states will have to be reduced. Without defeating BJP in these states of North India, Modi cannot be ousted from power. Therefore, Congress is making bold moves on each and every seat in North India.

The shrinking of Congress in North India can create great difficulties for them. Even though Congress is expanding its reach in the southern states. But work will not be done without North India winning the Lok Sabha elections. That is why Congress does not want to be in any hurry in announcing candidates for the seats in the states of North India. This is the reason why Congress has not been able to announce the names of candidates even on Rae Bareli and Amethi seats, which are considered strongholds of the Gandhi family. In 2019, Congress had lost the Amethi seat and Rahul Gandhi had to face defeat. Sonia Gandhi is not contesting from Rae Bareli seat this time. In such a situation, Congress wants to play its move very thoughtfully, so that its supremacy remains intact in Rae Bareli and it can make a comeback in Amethi.