The process of political realignment has begun after the Rashtriya Lok Dal and the Praja Rajyam Party moved closer to the Congress while the Samajwadi Party, BSP and the RJD distanced themselves from the BJP-led NDA.
On the other hand, the PMK returned back to the DMK-led front in Tamil Nadu ahead of the state Assembly polls.
The Congress party appears to be on a mission of winning friends in the politically crucial states like Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu at a time when the Trinamul Congress led by the Union minister Mamata Banerjee (19 MPs) is giving conflicting signals. On the other hand, the son of the late Andhra chief minister Y.S. Rajasehkhara Reddy — Jaganmohan Reddy, a sitting Lok Sabha member, is feeling uncomfortable.
In Karnataka, the Janata Dal(S) led by the former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda too wants to be friendly with the Congress. The JD(S) members had abstained during the cut motions in the Lok Sabha and thus helped the government with the SP, BSP and RJD.
The Congress managers are more than comfortable not because these developments would check the trend of rebellion in a section of the ruling coalition, but due to the Opposition’s failure to pose any threat to the Centre. The BJP has lost its power in the Jharkhand and the Congress is all set to rule the state either indirectly or directly in the due course. The main Opposition is finding it difficult to work as a pressure group because the NDA got divided on the Women’s Reservation Bill and the caste-based-Census. Besides, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj is said to have moved closer to the UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi. Atleast, this is the perception in the BJP-led NDA.
The Congress party has announced to field Capt. Satish Sharma for the biennial elections to the Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh knowing well that it lacks requisite votes to win the seat. But the elections will reveal the new friends of the Congress — RLD led by Ajit Singh and even the Mulayam Singh Yadav led Samajwadi Party.
In fact, the speculations have already begun in the political circles about Mr Ajit Singh’s induction in the Cabinet.
Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav needs a friend in UP to fight the coming electoral battle against the BSP.