In a clear message about the party deciding to show-up greater flexibility in developing opposition unity, the Congress Party proposed a “pragmatic approach for cooperation” to tie with like-minded parties and coming up with a common workable platform with them to be able to defeat the present ruling BJP government.

Earlier this week, Sonia Gandhi hosted a dinner party for about 20 of the opposition party leaders to forge a grouping. She was the party president who led it for about 19 years after stepping down from the post in December last year. But still she is considered the soul of the party for leading UPA in an effort to expand its reach.

During her speech at the plenary session, she remembered how the Congress party has given up the go-alone strategy and decided at the 1998 Panchmarhi session to form a coalition of like-minded parties at the Shimla session in 2003.

Former President Pranab Mukherjee, then a union minister, asserted that he was the only who was opposed to pre-poll alliance at the 2003 meet. But due to Mrs Gandhi and Dr Manmohan Singh, they decided to usher a change.

As a result, the Congress formed the next government in 2004 and 2009 and took many healthy decisions helping them to imporve overall lives of people. “We want to be first amongst equals with political parties,” senior Congress leader Kamal Nath was quoted by a news agency as saying.

Sachin Pilot, the Congress leader who has played a major key role in scripting the party’s success in recent by-elections in Rajasthan, told that “15 years ago, Congress said we must work in a democracy with like-minded parties and try and diminish the size of people and the party that are trying to break our society”.

Congress leaders assert that Congress alone is such a party that can challenge and take on BJP on national level. It is such a formulation to which even Samajwadi Party’s Juhie Singh said that her party agrees to that.

But the formula is not still clear whether to which extent the Congress would go to be able to accomodate potential allies. It has the experience to play a lead role as it had done in 2004 and 2009 Lok Sabha elections.

Many Congress leaders are very much enthusiastic and optimistic that they will come to power by the strategies they are going to deploy after the 84th plenary session ends. They are of the view that root-level work needs to be done to strengthen the party and also to persuade other opposition parties to form an alliance. This they say, can be done by being more flexible.

You May Also Read: Congress Plenary Session: Sonia accuses Modi Govt Of ‘Power-Drunk’, terms pre-election pledges as ‘dramebaazi’