GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 27th Feb. The Congress and BJP are formulating plans to resolve the electoral puzzle
Every political party is hard at work getting ready for the Lok Sabha polls. Everybody is creating their own plans to outwit one another. In the elections, South Bharat is crucial for the BJP and the Congress. Because the role of regional parties will be crucial in determining the political landscape of South Bharat. The BJP will face more challenges if the opposition’s regional parties do better in South Bharat. Congress has therefore developed an alternative plan to resolve this equation.
A big challenge for the national party
According to experts, no national party is in a position to win without the support of regional parties. There are a total of 131 Lok Sabha seats, of which 28 are in Karnataka, 17 in Telangana, 25 in Andhra Pradesh, 39 in Tamil Nadu, 20 in Kerala, 1 each in Pondicherry and Lakshadweep. If we look at the results of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, BJP was successful in winning 30 parliamentary seats. Whereas, Congress got 27 seats and regional parties got 74 seats, in which most of them are non-BJP parties. Experts say that if the opposition is successful in winning a total of 131 Lok Sabha seats in South Bharat and the BJP does not perform better, then there can be a big political upheaval here. Congress is trying to establish its dominance in South Bharat. But, the more successful it is in wooing regional parties, the more its success percentage will also increase.
DMK-Congress alliance in Tamil Nadu
There is a DMK-Congress alliance in Tamil Nadu, in which DMK is in the role of elder brother. BJP is AIADMK’s junior partner in Tamil Nadu. Talks are going on between BJP and TDP in Andhra Pradesh, here BJP will probably play the role of younger brother. Moreover, there is a direct contest between the Congress-led UDF and the Left-led LDF in Kerala. In the initial phase, Congress had tremendous dominance in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra, Karnataka and United Andhra Pradesh. But, it gradually decreased. The dominance of communist parties increased in Kerala. The Congress party has not had unilateral dominance here.
BJP is slowly trying to establish its influence
The influence of regional parties like DMK and AIADMK in Tamil Nadu has a direct impact on the strategy of national parties. Congress is the junior partner of DMK here. Whereas BJP is gradually trying to establish its influence. Right now his position here is not very strong. Similarly, in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, regional parties like TDP, YSR Congress and BRS have been successful in keeping the electoral equation around them.
Big role of JDS in Karnataka
Similarly, JDS is a force in Karnataka. However, both BJP and Congress have a good support base here. Both the parties have the potential to win a good number of seats here. But, experts believe that JDS cannot be underestimated here and it can play the role of gaining an upper hand. At present, Left led LDF alliance is in control in Kerala, BRS in Telangana, YSR Congress has considerable influence in Andhra Pradesh.
Congress has recently formed the government on its own in Karnataka and the party has also won Telangana. At the same time, it is included in the government with DMK in Tamil Nadu. Therefore, it expects the opposition camp to gain ground in these states. In the year 2019, regional parties had won 74 seats in the south, of which YSR had won 25, DMK 20, BRS 9 seats. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, BJP was successful in winning seats in Karnataka and Telangana, while it could not even open its account in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh.
BJP trying for alliance
The BJP is building alliances with new allies in the south, including TDP in Andhra Pradesh and JDS in Karnataka. As far as Congress is concerned, DMK and Left parties in Tamil Nadu are with Congress and will contest elections together in 2024. In Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana, Congress can contest elections alone.
Congress engaged in the mission of 2024
Congress has been engaged in the mission of 2024 since the formation of the government in Karnataka. BRS is continuously trying to create a political atmosphere in Telangana by bringing leaders into its fold. Similarly, in Kerala, Congress wants to compete with the Left like before, because the influence of BJP is not much.
