Brinkmanship by Congress allies

• Shock to UPA in the run-up to LS elections
• Both NC, NCP were allies of NDA earlier
• AAP, which depends on Cong, turns tables

New Delhi: Sensing that the Congress-led UPA is a sinking ship, the allies of the Congress are keeping their options open, even if it means looking up to BJP Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi. This has rattled the Congress, as it comes in the run-up to the crucial 2014 Lok Sabha elections, where it faces a stiff electoral challenge from Modi.

While National Conference leader and Union Minister Farooq Abdullah has indicated he is not averse to Modi becoming the next Prime Minister, Nationalist Congress Party leader and Union Minister Praful Patel said the 2002 Gujarat riots issue should be laid to rest. The shifting stand of the allies could spell serious trouble for the Congress.

The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), which is an ally both at the Centre and in Maharashtra, and the National Conference in Jammu & Kashmir, which is also an ally at the Centre and in the State, have resorted to extreme brinkmanship. Both the NCP and the NC, in the past, were allies of the BJP during the Vajpayee Government and may not be averse to a future tie-up with them. Neither of the two parties has any problem of considering an alliance with the BJP at any stage, even if it is in the post-poll scenario.

At a time, when the Congress is bracing to pin down BJP Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on 2002 Gujarat riots, the 1984 anti-Sikh riots have come back to haunt the Congress, in the run-up to the crucial 2014 Lok Sabha elections. The recent TV interview of Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi, accusing Modi Government of abetting and furthering the Gujarat riots in 2002, has forced the Congress on the back foot, virtually blunting the Congress attack on Modi.

AAP supremo and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, too, is pushing for a special investigation team to probe into the anti-Sikh riots in the aftermath of the tragic assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984.

Senior NCP leader and Union Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Minister Praful Patel advised Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi to respect the clean-chit to BJP Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi. He said, “If the judicial system has given any pronouncement I think we ought to respect it and we need not question it further. There is no point to comment, because it is for each one to give his or her version, but the fact remains that perception today is important and if the judicial system has given a certain finality to any controversy, I think we should let it rest there.”

If that was not enough, senior National Conference leader and Union New and Renewable Energy Minister Farooq Abdullah hinted that he was not averse to the prospect of Narendra Modi becoming the next Prime Minister. Significantly, during the Vajpayee Government, Farooq Abdullah was the Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister and his son Omar Abdullah was the Union Minister of State at the Centre.

Farooq Abdullah said, “People will decide if Narendra Modi will win or lose. They will decide who will become the Prime Minister of India. If Modi is elected as PM, it will be the will of the people and the party will accept the verdict.”

The Congress-National Conference ties have nosedived of late, raising questions whether the two parties will contest together or part ways ahead of polls. The National Conference has accused the Congress of stonewalling Omar Abdullah’s scheme of creating 700 new administrative units, considered advantageous to the NC, ahead of the State Assembly elections. The Congress is opposing the move on the ground that it is not financially viable.