New Delhi: After seat-sharing, the INDIA alliance has started working on the ground with the parties discussing joint campaign strategies and cooperation in states like Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Goa. So far, seat-sharing has taken place between the Congress and SP in Uttar Pradesh and between the Congress and AAP in Delhi, Haryana, Goa, and Gujarat.
In UP, the Congress will contest 17 seats while the SP will contest 63 seats out of a total of 80 as part of the pact. According to party insiders, the Congress and the SP workers have held parleys to work out joint campaign and cooperation plans in parliamentary constituencies like Barabanki, in the eastern parts, and Kanpur, in central UP. More such meetings will be held in the days to come.
“Yes, meetings between the local Congress and SP workers and senior functionaries have been held in Barabanki. Cooperation between the alliance partners is good. The INDIA bloc is strong and will take on the BJP in the ensuing Lok Sabha polls,” senior Congress leader PL Punia told ETV Bharat.
His son Tanuj Punia, is a strong Congress contender from the Barabanki seat. In Kanpur, AICC functionaries Ajay Kapoor and Alok Mishra are strong contenders. “The coordination between the two parties was not very effective on the ground in 2017 when we fought the assembly polls together. Now both partners are serious for the national polls,” a senior AICC functionary said.
In Haryana, the Congress will contest 9 seats while AAP will contest one seat in Kurukshetra out of the total 10 seats as part of the pact. On March 5, Haryana CLP leader Bhupinder Hooda and state unit chief Udai Bhan campaigned for AAP’s Kurukshetra candidate Sushil Gupta days after he sought the blessings of both the former chief minister, a prominent Jat community leader, as well as veteran Kumari Selja, a Dalit leader.
“The BJP-JJP state government has left the farmers high and dry after the food growers suffered loss of crop due to recent rains and hail storms. They are dependent on the government portal, which is often non-functional, for the same while the insurance companies, which corner heavy premiums, are having a good time. The government should immediately get a survey done and compensate the farmers Rs 40,000 per acre,” Hooda told ETV Bharat.
The cooperation within the INDIA alliance is also showing in Goa, where the Goa Forward Party, Shiv Sena UBT, NCP, and AAP have declared full support to the Congress for the two parliamentary seats in the coastal state. Initially, the AAP was bargaining for the South Goa Lok Sabha seat but gave up its claim instead of the two seats Bharuch and Bhavnagar in Gujarat, said Congress insiders.
“AAP leaders will participate in Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra which is currently passing through Gujarat. Congress allies Shiv Sena UBT and NCP Sharadchandra Pawar are holding joint protests against the BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP coalition government in Maharashtra. This cooperation will boost the opposition alliance in the two key western states,” AICC secretary in charge of Gujarat BM Sandeep Kumar told ETV Bharat.
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