Vulnerability has
forced both parties to bury differences and come together
By K Raveendran
The BJP may have made a tactical mistake in driving both AAP in the Delhi excise policy scam and Congress in the income tax imbroglio to the point of breakdown so that the two parties have no mojo left to stick to their respective positions with regard to fighting independently in the Lok Sabha elections. Perhaps, the vulnerability has forced the two parties to concede ground to each other for making seat adjustments possible. In the labyrinthine corridors of Indian politics, vulnerability often shapes alliances and strategic manoeuvres.
AAP, led by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, emerged as a formidable force in Delhi. Its anti-corruption stance and focus on governance resonated with voters. As such, BJP viewed the party as a threat. AAP's growing footprint in other states has made it an irritant for the ruling party at the Centre, prompting to target Kejriwal. No wonder then that the central agencies, acting at the behest of the BJP, has intensified their scrutiny of AAP leaders.
The spectre of central agencies—Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Income Tax Department—has forced them to engage in pragmatic negotiations. Accordingly, AAP and Congress have made seat-sharing arrangements in Delhi, Haryana, Gujarat and Goa to maximize their chances of electoral success.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has been summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) a staggering seven times in connection with the excise policy case. The ED's relentless pursuit has left Kejriwal on the defensive, navigating legal complexities and political scrutiny. The excise policy case, linked with money laundering, has cast a shadow over his administration.
Kejriwal's two senior colleagues, former Deputy CM Manish Sisodia and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, have already been arrested in connection with an alleged bribery scandal involving Rs 100 crore. Kejriwal has defied the ED summons, citing a fresh court date for March 16. However, agency sources have dismissed the claim, emphasizing that the court had already taken cognizance of Kejriwal's intentional disobedience of the summonses.
With parliamentary elections only weeks away, the fund squeeze has put Congress in a predicament. Already struggling for funds, with funding options limited to mainly Karnataka, where the party is in power on its own strength, the party in in an unenviable situation to deploy resources to put an efficient fight in the elections. The squeeze has come at a time amidst party's dwindling fortunes, leadership crises, and internal divisions, making it susceptible to financial constraints.
The Congress last week said that all its bank accounts had been frozen by the IT department over a discrepancy in filing its 2018-19 tax returns, terming the action an “assault on democracy by the Narendra Modi government” in the run-up to the Lok Sabha election. Despite the freeze, the party, however, alleged that the department has withdrawn Rs 65 crore from its accounts in different banks “undemocratically” even when the case pertaining to their I-T returns for previous years is sub judice.
BJP has sought to deprecate the Congress, AAP alliance, describing the two parties as ‘thieves who are maternal cousins'. The party even laments that the AAP action has betrayed the confidence of AAP workers, who were expecting Kejriwal to pursue his promise of sending Congress leaders to jail, but instead he has fallen at their feet.
BJP is well aware of the impact of the AAP-Congress seat adjustment in determining the outcome of the elections in Delhi. The party leadership has reportedly begun working out its own equation for the capital's seven parliamentary seats, all of which went in favour of the party in the 2019 elections despite the fact that AAP clinched the Delhi state government.
The party's central election committee has to take a call on whether to persist with the sitting MPs or look for new faces in view of the changed situation. The INDIA alliance, on the other hand is exuding confidence that the opposition would sweep all the 7 seats in what is considered as one of the most prestigious and evenly poised contents throughout the country. (IPA Service)
