Congress deploys heavyweights as observers in Maharashtra, Jharkhand
The Congress on Tuesday appointed party heavyweights, including three former chief ministers, as observers for the coming Assembly elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand apparently in a bid to prevent a Haryana-type upset in these two states.
Former Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and Deputy Chief Minister TS Singhdeo, and Rajya Sabha member Syed Naseer Hussain are among those who have been appointed as senior observers for the elections in Maharashtra.
Senior leaders Mukul Wasnik and Avinash Pande have been appointed state election senior coordinators for Maharashtra where the opposition party is expecting to pull off a victory with its Maha Vikash Aghadi (MVA) partners owing to the “hurt caused to the minds of the local people” by the BJP by engineering splits in the Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
Former Union Minister Tariq Anwar, former leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka Mallu have been appointed senior observers for Jharkhand.
Polling in these two states is scheduled for next month. The results will be announced on November 23.
One of the major reasons attributed to the Congress’ loss is Haryana is said to be counting too much on the local leadership. In Maharashtra and Jharkhand, the party has deployed senior leaders from other states so that the ticket is distributed keeping the overall interest of the party in mind and a particular leader does not get the upper hand.
The appointment of observers and coordinators follows a meeting between Maharashtra Congress leaders and the party’s senior leadership, including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, former president Rahul Gandhi, state unit chief Nana Patole, Leader of the Opposition in Maharashtra Vijay Wadettiwar and senior leader Balasaheb Thorat, in Delhi on Monday.
The announcement regarding the appointments came hours before the Election Commission came up with the election schedule for the two states.
The BJP’s unexpected victory in Haryana has come as a big morale booster for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had lost some of his sheen owing to the party’s poor performance in the Lok Sabha poll held earlier this year. The Congress is desperate to put up a good show in Maharashtra and Jharkhand so that it can regain the momentum it got in the Lok Sabha poll results.
In Maharashtra, the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance, which includes the Congress and the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (NCP-SP) as well as the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT), will face the ruling coalition, Mahayuti — the BJP, Shiv Sena (Shinde) and the Nationalist Congress Party combine.
In Jharkhand, the ruling coalition consists of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Nationalist Congress Party and the Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation. It will be up against the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which includes the All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU), Janata Dal (United) and the BJP.
