The Hindu : Cong. must be magnanimous in seat-sharing, says SP

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Monday, Aug 04, 2003

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Cong. must be magnanimous in seat-sharing, says SP

By Javed M Ansari

NEW DELHI AUG. 3. The test of a smooth seat adjustment between the Congress and the Samajwadi Party may come sooner than the next Lok Sabha elections. The two sides have been holding informal consultations on the possibility of joining hands in the States going to the polls later this year.

At its conclave in Bhopal last week, the Samajwadi Party had made it clear that it was ready for an electoral understanding with the Congress in Uttar Pradesh, provided the Congress was willing to share seats in the four States where it was in power. "We are prepared to give them seats in Uttar Pradesh but we must also be accommodated in the other States," the SP chief, Mulayam Singh Yadav, is reported to have told his partymen.

The choice of Bhopal as the venue for the SP conclave was not without significance. Madhya Pradesh, along with Delhi, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram will go to the polls in autumn this year, and the SP would like to contest some seats in these States. In Madhya Pradesh, the party fancies its chances in some of the seats bordering U.P. and would like the Congress to accommodate its claims in those areas.

Senior SP leaders maintain that for any kind of arrangement to work, both parties will have to accommodate each other. The SP leadership believes that its demand for a few seats is not unreasonable. "If we are prepared to accommodate the Congress in U.P., why can't they do the same in the other States," a senior SP leader said.

The SP leadership pointed out that both parties were in a similar situation. They argued that the Congress vote share had dipped in the Assembly polls and byelections held since the last Lok Sabha election in U.P., in which it won ten seats.

"Our vote share in the Congress-ruled States is in direct proportion to the Congress share in U.P. We are sure both sides can accommodate each other," said a senior SP leader.

The SP leaders argued that, given the close contest in the four States, the secular parties must ensure that their votes are not divided. "The Congress is the main party, it should take the lead and be magnanimous. We will follow suit."

Though the Congress has not entirely ruled out an understanding with other like-minded parties, they argue that much would depend on the number of seats demanded by these parties. "The ball is in their court. First they must come with a proposal for U.P., then we will be willing to consider any proposal that is based on a reasonable assessment of the ground realities."

The cautious Congress response is perhaps deliberate. Its poll strategists maintain that while they are keen on ensuring that there is no division in the secular vote, they also cannot give in to any unreasonable demands made on them.

"It will encourage other political parties to make similar demands," said a Congress Working Committee member.

In Delhi, the Third Front has threatened to contest all the Assembly seats if the Congress did not leave a sufficient number of seats for it.

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