NEW DELHI, Feb 1 (UNI) With the Lok Sabha set to be dissolved on February 6 and the dates of fresh elections to the lower house to be announced shortly, the Congress is moving ahead gradually towards forging alliances with like-minded parties in a bid to form a secular front to defeat the NDA, but the party has still a long way to go.
After several rounds of talks held in Chennai and in Delhi, the party eventually succeeded in firming up an alliance with the DMK, led by M Karunanidhi.
An agreement on seat sharing for the Lok Sabha elections was finalised in Chennai today, according to AICC general secretary Kamal Nath.
He told newsmen that the party had not only finalised the seat sharing but also identified the seats to be contested by the Congress.
The agreement followed a three-hour long discussion Kamal Nath had together with the local Congress leaders and DMK supremo K Karunanidhi and his party colleagues.
Earlier, senior party leader Dr Manmohan Singh, CWC member Mani Shankar Aiyer had visited Chennai and Karunanidhi's son Stalin had visited Delhi in bid to sew up an alliance, but the talks remained inconclusive.
As per the agreement reached, the Congress will form part of the Democratic Progressive Alliance, headed by the DMK, as its main ally.
The other allies will be MDMK, PMK and the Left parties.
The talks for alliance with the DMK got bogged down initially when Karunanidhi unilaterally allocated Pondicherry seat, presently held by the Congress, to another ally PMK, much to the discomfiture of the Congress.
The controversy, according to Kamal Nath, had finally been resolved.
The Congress party's efforts to rope in the Bahujan Samaj Party led by Mayawati for an alliance in Uttar Pradesh through its negotations, conducted at the state level so far, have been a non-starter.
The former UP chief minister has kept the Congress guessing about whether her party would have an alliance with the Congress at all or would like to go it alone in the Lok Sabha elections.She has indicated that she would make up her mind after the election commission announces the dates of the Lok Sabha elections.
Mayawati told reporters that her party had seldom gained anything through alliances or seat sharing with other parties in earllier elections.
The 'dalit' votes of the BSP tend to get transferred to other parties aligning with her, rather than benefitting the BSP, she said.
The BSP leader has reportedly laid down a condition that the Congress withdraw support to the Mulayam Singh Yadav government in Uttar Pradesh before if enters into any alliance with the Congress.
This has created a piquant situation for the Congress.
Its indecision on this count stems from the assurances that Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh has given to the Congress that his party would extend issuebased support in the elections and form as government.The Samajwadi Party however, has repeatedly clarified tht it would go it alone in the elections.
The Congress may not like to ignore the prospects of post election support assured to it by the Samajwadi Party.
As the party's dilemma in Uttar Prdesh continues, pressure is mounting on the Congress high command from its Uttar Pradesh unit to withdraw support to the Mulayam Singh government on the grounds that the government is not taking the party into confidence on major decisions being taken by it.
It has also accused Mulayam Singh of not honouring the understanding reached that there would be a Common Minimum Progamme besides a Joint Coordination Committee.
Reports say Mayawati may subject the Congress to hard bargaining offering not more than 10-15 seats to contest from the state and may ask for seats to contest from states like Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
This may not be acceptable to the Congress and may block the chances of the party to have an alliance.
Meanwhile, the Congress appears to be inclined to conceding the demand from an overwhleming section of congessmen in the state to let Rahul Gandhi and Priyanaka Vadra join active pollitics and allow them to contest the elections either from Amethi or Rai Bareli.
As it is, the party has finally declared that the Congress president's two children are the primary members of the party.
In view of the fact that it would be crucial for the party aspiring to emerge as the single largest party in the election to bag a sizeable number of seats in the state, the launching of Gandhi's siblings into politics is likely to considerably improve the party's prospects in the elections.
Inspite of Congress president Sonia Gandhi's one-to-one meeting with Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar, followed by senior party leader Dr Manmohan Singh's meeting with him, no headway has ben made towards forging an alliance with the NCP.
Gandhi and Pawar are likely to meet sometime again to finalise the alliance.
The NCP has, meanwhile, suffered a setback when the party split on the question of aligning with the Congress with PA Sangma parting ways and forming a parallel party with himself as its president.
The Congress party has also drawn a blank so far, as far as its proposed alliance with the Telengana Rashtriy Samiti (TRS)in Andhra Pradesh is concerned.
Trs president Chandra Shekhar Rao visited Delhi recently and sounded Congress leaders for an alliance, The TRS wants the Congress to spell out its stand and speak out in favour of formation of separate state of telengana.
Since the Congress did not oblige, Rao returned to Hyderabad disappointed and susequently ruled out the possibility of an alliance with the Congress.
Meanwhile, the Congress has either taken a decision or is considering having alliance with about 20 national regional and smaller parties in various states for the Lok Sabha elections.
Besides the BSP, NCP, DMK and TRS, these parties include PDP in Jammu and Kashmir, RJD in Bihar, Ram Vilas Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party, RPI in Maharashtra, MGP in Goa ,BJD beakaway group in Orissa,and Kerala Congress and Muslim League in Kerala.
The party is also wooing Haryana Vikas Party in Haryana.
