The parasitic character of the Congress party is getting reflected with time in one State after the other. The Congress party always remains like a curse on its allies and works to weaken its allies in elections. The declining support base of the Congress party State after State is an indication that the Congress party can now think of contesting the electoral race only with the help of allies. Allies are not only the support base for the Congress party but its compulsion for the Congress party. In the recently concluded Jammu & Kashmir Assembly election, the Congress party contested 38 seats and won only 6 (15.8 per cent) seats. In the 2020 Assembly election in Bihar, the Congress party contested on 70 seats and won 19 (27.1 per cent) seats. While in the 2017 Assembly election in Uttar Pradesh, the Congress party contested in alliance with the Samajwadi Party and won only 7 (6 per cent) seats by contesting on 114 seats.
Currently, Assembly elections are being held in two States, Maharashtra and Jharkhand. In both these States, the Congress party is trying to contest the elections only with the help of allies like many other States. In Jharkhand, the Congress party is contesting the ongoing Assembly election with the help of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation (CPI(ML)L).
Despite the alliance, the Congress party is not giving up its old practice of fielding candidates against allies in Jharkhand. It’s the old practice of the Congress party to put candidates against its allies in the States, especially in Jharkhand. Even in the ongoing Assembly election in Jharkhand, despite the alliance, the I.N.D.I Alliance are witnessing a fierce electoral battle among themselves, too. The parties of the I.N.D.I Alliance is contesting among themselves in Dhanwar, Bishrampur and Chhatarpur Assembly seats. On the Dhanwar Assembly seat, the CPIML and the JMM are contesting against each other despite the alliance. The RJD and the Congress party are contesting against each other on Bishrampur and Chhatarpur Assembly seats. The irony of the I.N.D.I Alliance is that it was not able to put a unanimous candidate against State BJP president Babulal Marandi on Dhanwar AC. Marandi is also the senior leader of the State BJP and the main campaigner of the party in the State. Any party fields a strong candidate against the senior leaders of its opposition party after careful consideration so that the opposition leader spends more time in his constituency for his own victory. However, the I.N.D.I Alliance failed to do even this, which clearly demonstrates that the I.N.D.I Alliance is only becoming a part of the electoral process, considering that it was defeated in this election.
It is ironic that before the formation of Jharkhand, the then Chief Minister of united Bihar, Lalu Yadav, used to say that Jharkhand would be formed over my dead body. The Congress party and the JMM are being forced to form an alliance with Lalu Yadav’s party. Lalu Yadav’s party, the RJD, has been an ally of the Congress party and the JMM in elections and even in Government in the State. These parties elected Premchand Gupta of RJD to Rajya Sabha with their own strength.
In Jharkhand, the Congress party contested 62 seats in the 2014 assembly elections. But as, no strong local party forged an alliance with the Congress party, and the party won only 6 seats. In 2019, showing parasiticism in Jharkhand, the Congress party took the help of JMM and, contested 31 seats and won 16 seats. In the 2009 assembly elections in Jharkhand, the Congress party contested the elections in alliance with Babulal Marandi’s then Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik). Under this alliance, the Congress party had to contest on 56 seats and the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) on 19 seats. But at the last moment, the Congress party fielded its candidates in 61 seats and the JVM in 25 seats. Also, there was no alliance between the two parties on five seats. Both parties had a friendly contest on five Assembly seats. The performance of Congress with allies in the 2009 assembly elections in Jharkhand was as
2009
Party Contested Won %Winning
Congress 61 14 22.95
JVM 25 11 44
In the 2009 Assembly election in Jharkhand, the five seats on which Congress and the JVM had friendly contests were Silli, Bagmara, Bokaro, Barkatha, and Madhupur. Out of these five seats, the JVM won Bagmara and Bokaro Assembly seats. The Congress party was not ahead of JVM in terms of votes on any of the five seats. This implies that the Congress party should have given these seats to the JVM under the alliance. Among the five seats the JVM was in second position on Silli assembly seat. If we add the votes of the Congress party to the JVM on this seat, then we find that JVM trailed by just 359 votes compared to the winner on the seat. It can also be said that the JVM lost this seat because of the Congress party. The JVM was in second position in Barkatha’s seat. If we add the votes of the Congress party to the votes of the JVM on the Barkatha seat, then the JVM would win this seat by 2125 votes.
The Congress party formed an alliance with JMM in the first assembly elections of Jharkhand in 2005. Despite the alliance, both the parties had a friendly contest in nine seats. These seats were Deoghar, Godda, Barkagaon, Simaria, Bokaro, Chhatarpur, Hussainabad, Garhwa and Tundi. In 2005, too, in the first election of the Jharkhand assembly, the JMM had to pay a heavy price for its alliance with the Congress party, and the performance of these two parties compared to each other was like this.
2005
Party Contested Won %Winning
Congress 41 9 22
JMM 49 17 34.7
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