New Delhi: The Congress on Monday decided not to field candidates for the coming Lok Sabha by polls from Rampur and Azamgarh seats in UP saying it wanted to 'rebuild' the party.
"The recent assembly elections in UP were not up to our expectations. We felt that we needed to work harder and strengthen the organisation. Then we would be able to focus on the 2024 national elections better,” AICC Secretary and former Rampur MLA Sanjay Kapoor told ETV Bharat.
Kapoor denied that the move would send a negative signal in the crucial state. “No, I don’t think the move will send a negative signal,” he said. Though some insiders agreed the move not to field Congress candidates in the two parliamentary seats, which are strongholds of rival Samajwadi Party, would send a positive signal to former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, Kapoor did not buy the argument.
“The decision has been taken in the grand old party’s long-term interests in UP and not keeping in mind any other party,” he said. In the recent assembly elections, the Congress could win just 2 out of 403 assembly seats in UP while the SP emerged as the main opposition with 111 seats. AICC in charge of UP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra reviewed the party system in the state recently and urged the Congress leaders not to be disheartened over the assembly elections and work with double resolve for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
The Congress decision came on a day the SP fielded former MP Dharmendra Yadav from Azamgarh and Asim Raza from Rampur. Earlier, the SP was planning to field Tanzeem Fatma, wife of party veteran Azam Khan from the family stronghold. Akhilesh Yadav resigned from the Azamgarh Lok Sabha seat after he was elected as an MLA from Karhal in the recent assembly polls.
Congress leaders in Uttar Pradesh said it was better to rebuild the organisation than fight the Lok Sabha by polls without any preparation. The Lok Sabha by polls, they further said, had come at a time when the grand old party’s internal elections process was going on and would have diverted attention from rebuilding the organisation.
“It is better to prepare for the 2024 national elections,” said a senior UP Congress leader. UP sends 80 members to the Lok Sabha and the Congress currently has just 1 seat, Rae Bareli represented by party chief Sonia Gandhi. That in itself presents an uphill task for the Congress in UP, said party insiders, adding that if division of anti-BJP votes could be avoided it only serves the opposition right.
The Congress and SP contested the 2017 assembly polls together but the alliance did not click. In 2022, both the parties fought the assembly polls separately. The SP, said Congress insiders, benefited from the polarisation of voters started by the ruling BJP.
Also read: Congress gets down to micro-manage Rajya Sabha polls in Haryana, Rajasthan, Maharashtra
