New Delhi: Not surprised or disturbed by the BSP’s decision to form an alliance with the Congress party in the state of Madhya Pradesh, a senior leader Jyotiraditya Scindia today said that the party is “still in the driver’s seat” and in contact with all “possible partners” in the poll-bound state.
Mr. Scindia is currently leading the Congress campaign in the state of Madhya Pradesh and said that the entire state leadership and party cadre was working hard in a cohesive manner to chart out the party’s plan to dislodge the BJP party government after its total misrule for 14 years.
When inquired, whether the BSP could cut in to the Congress’ vote share, he told the News Agencies in an interview that: “I don’t think so. Obviously, the alliance would have had its own benefits, but as things stand today, support for the Congress is running deep in Madhya Pradesh. The workers are motivated and the people are looking to us for change. So, we are definitely still in the driver’s seat.”
While responding to a question about a possible tie-up with the Samajwadi Party and the Gondwana Gantantra Party after Bahujan Samaj Party’s decision not to form alliance with the Congress party in the state, Mr. Scindia said, “We are in touch with all possible partners — our ultimate goal is to beat the Bharatiya Janata Party. We are not currently ruling out the possibility of an alliance.”
The remarks made by him come just days after BSP chief Mayawati announced that her party was not willing to form an alliance with the Congress “at any cost” for the upcoming Assembly elections in the state of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.
However, he said that the general elections to be held next year will be a “different ball game altogether” and if the alliances in the state don’t work out, the possibilities for a coalition still exist in 2019.
The “driving mantra” of the party, according Mr. Scindia is, ‘Waqt hai badlaav ka’, (it’s the time for a change), and said that this is “not a slogan, this is a reality, a commitment to change”.
“We are not fighting this election on the Modi or Shivraj factor but the ‘people factor’. The people of Madhya Pradesh have suffered from the BJP rule for 14 years. Everywhere we look, the people are exasperated and angry,” the MP from Guna said.
Commenting over the issues that the Congress aims to raise during the election campaign, Scindia said that the party will take the fight to the streets. “We are focusing on some key issues — farmer distress across the state, complete breakdown of law and order, especially rising cases of crimes against women, unemployment, and massive corruption, be it Vyapam, e-tender or sand-mining.”
The state will conduct elections on November 28 and the counting process for the votes will be held on December 11.
An aggressive campaign has been launched by the Congress in the state of Madhya Pradesh with party chief Rahul Gandhi visiting the state in a very frequent manner. Mr. Gandhi will be present in the state on Monday as well and will address several public meetings there, and will also take part in the road show in Gwalior.
When inquired about the difference inside the Congress organization when compared to the past three elections and whether various differences among the senior leaders of the party had been sorted out, Mr. Scindia said that the party was united and there were also regular meetings over crucial matters, including the issue of overhauling the organization, reviving and rejuvenating party cadres and then strengthening the system at the district as well as bloc level.
“We understand that to fight the BJP, we will have to go down to the booth level and fight. Under Congress President Rahul Gandhi’s uniting leadership, we are working as a single INC unit, coming together under the umbrella of a common vision and mission for the development of Madhya Pradesh,” the 47-year-old leader said.
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