Should unsuccessful leaders of UP, Bihar or any other state be considered for a LS berth from Delhi or should they be asked to contest from their original constituencies in order to strengthen the party there?
The national Capital has always been a good barometer to determine which way the country will vote in a parliamentary election. The readings are Congress-specific and indicate the voters' mood for or against it. Whenever the Congress has done well in Lok Sabha polls in Delhi, it has done well nationally too. The reverse has also been true.
For instance, in 1971, the Congress won all seven seats in Delhi and also swept Lok Sabha polls elsewhere on Indira Gandhi's Garibi Hatao slogan. In 1977, the party lost all seven and also power at the Centre. In 1980, it won six and returned to power. In 1984, the 7-0 score reflected a clean sweep throughout the country.
In 1989, the party won two and had to sit in the Opposition. In 1991, it again won two and though after Rajiv Gandhi's assassination the party returned to power, P.V. Narasimha Rao headed only a minority government. In 1996, the party won two seats and remained out of power. In 1998, it had one seat and was still in the opposition. In 1999, it lost all seven and the NDA ruled comfortably.
Therefore, Congressmen seem to be superstitious as far as Delhi's seats are concerned. They feel that the battle of Delhi has to be won to form the government at the Centre. But while the BJP has already fielded a formidable team with six sitting MPs, the Congress is yet to take a decision.
{{/usCountry}}Therefore, Congressmen seem to be superstitious as far as Delhi's seats are concerned. They feel that the battle of Delhi has to be won to form the government at the Centre. But while the BJP has already fielded a formidable team with six sitting MPs, the Congress is yet to take a decision.
{{/usCountry}}The party has to make up its mind on certain thorny issues. First, should unsuccessful leaders of UP, Bihar, or for that matter any other state, be considered for a Lok Sabha berth from Delhi?
The argument against this is that if outsiders were to be accommodated in Delhi, where do local leaders go? In any case, experience has shown that outsiders generally prove to be inaccessible to local voters and in the long run.
The second issue is whether the high command should consider fielding all new faces for their winnability or retain one or two veterans in order to have balance in power equations in the set up.
The third factor be weighed is whether winnability alone will be the criteria for selection. And if yes, social and caste equations will obviously become redundant. Delhi has to be viewed strictly from Delhi's perspective and not by caste equations which may govern UP or Bihar.
Therefore, the outcome of Delhi polls would largely depend on how the Congress decides to take on BJP stalwarts. If the selection of some candidates is as poor as it was in 1999, there will be no fight at all. And we all know how important it is for the Congress to do well in the Capital if it hopes to do well elsewhere. Or is it just a superstition?
Between us.