Page 22 - 15FEB2019E

• Hunting leader Not all alliance partners, it is
said, back Rahul Gandhi for prime ministership

tions. This time, the Congress can divide
these votes.
In other states too, there is same sce-
nario. The only danger with Congress as
third alternative would be a division of
Muslim votes. This could be countered
by coming out with a proper strategy.
This is possible because none of the
regional parties of anti-Modi alliance is
opposing Congress. They have affirmed
that the Congress was very much part
of the anti-BJP fight, even if there would
be no seat sharing with it. The SP and
BSP are particularly conscious about
the possible fallout of attacking Con-
gress and are refraining from it.
He is attacking Ayushman Bharat pro- Congress strategy The Unity Rally in Kolkata has, in
gram on the ground that it is meant fact, disapproved the stance of some
for helping insurance companies and for states facing parties to exclude the Congress from
promising to improve conditions in Assembly polls was the broader anti-BJP platform. The idea
government hospitals to make public of maintaining an equal distance from
health system efficient. to place the party BJP and the Congress. The proponent
He is attacking the education policy as an organisation of this idea, K Chandrashekhar Rao
of the government that it has made ed- miserably failed in his attempt to make
ucation beyond the reach of common which could gain a third front by keeping both BJP and
man. “The monopolization and capture support from all Congress out of it. NCP leader Sharad
of education and healthcare system, Pawar and National Conference leader
and the idea that a middle-class person the sections of Farooq Abdullah were opposed to the
has to pay lakhs of rupees to get decent the society idea of Federal Front from the very be-
education needs to be challenged,” Con- ginning and made Mamata Banerjee
gress President said in a public meeting and others to disapprove it. \
in Orissa. Now, there is a simple formulae
His criticism of these issues are in collapse of institutions. He says Prime that the regional parties will be free to
consonance with his attack on the “pro- Minister ignored the procedure to choose their poll allies with or without
corporate policies” of the government. finalize the deal and helped a business the Congress. In all likelihood, the Con-
His targeting Modi government on house to earn thousands of crores. gress will have alliances in some major
the issue of farm-distress helped him Will an alternative Congress nar- states like Assam, Bihar, West Ben-
win the states of Rajasthan, Madhya rative be effective in 2019 polls? Will a gal, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra
Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Implemen- divided Opposition be able to counter Pradesh, Telangana and Tamilnadu. In
tation of loan-waiver in these states will Modi? A close look at the social and some states, It will be a third alternative
help him in claiming that he is true to regional equation reveals that Con- and in other states like Chhattisgarh,
his commitments. gress as a third alternative may be an Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Guja-
His attack on the government over effective way to counter the RSS-BJP. At rat, the party will be in direct fight. “We
the issue of using investigating agencies many places, a direct fight may help BJP. want a democratic state. It will be cha-
is not centering on vendetta politics. He The experience of assembly elections otic but we bring all sections together
relates it to collapse of important insti- shows that Congress is capable of gain- and create discussions amongst them,”
tutions in the country. He stresses how ing upper caste votes. In Uttar Pradesh Rahul said in a public meeting. Will
the Modi government has devalued too, the votes of non-Yadava OBC votes Rahul become a real alternative? Only
judiciary, Reserve Bank ad and all oth- and non-Jatav Scheduled Caste votes time can say.
er institutions. Rahul also relates the could go to BJP. In 2014, the BJP gained a
alleged corruption in Rafale deal to the sizable amount of votes from these sec- letters@tehelka.com

Tehelka / 15 february 2019 22 www.Tehelka.com