In a major setback for Congress, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is having a hard time convincing even Dalit leaders to ally with her party. Following Mayawati’s flat rejection to ally with Congress, chief of an anarchist group ‘Bhim Army’, Chandrashekhar ‘Ravan’ has refused to forge an alliance with Congress.
To quote an excerpt from the Bhim Army chief’s interview to the Outlook magazine, “I won’t ally with Congress at any cost. My primary aim is to defeat the BJP and we will support parties which are fighting them. I am working towards fulfilling the vision of Babasaheb Ambedkar and I am not here for political gains. My aim is to empower the bahujan community.”
For those unaware, Chandrashekhar is an anarchist, who was accused of orchestrating communal riots in Saharanpur in 2015. He was arrested for the same and is currently undergoing medical treatment under the strict vigilance of the UP police.
On the question of alliance partner, he declared his support for the current SP-BSP coalition. He further said, “My effort will be to sort it out with Mayawatiji. If they extend support to us in Varanasi, we can return the support at other 79 seats. If they wish to field strong candidates like Mayawati, Akhilesh or Mulayam Singh to challenge Modi in Varanasi, I am ready to support them too. Our path is the same and we should go together.”
This is nothing less than embarrassing for the Congress party, especially for Priyanka Vadra, who had just met him with the hopes of an alliance just days ago. Only a couple of months ago, Congress seemed to be the ringleader of the much-touted Mahagathbandhan.
Buoyed by the victory attained in Chattisgarh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, the party decided to launch their ‘trump card’ in the name of Priyanka Vadra in order to secure an overwhelming victory in the 2019 polls. However, in the last couple of weeks, it seems that the tables have turned on Congress.
Moreover, Congress is finding hard to even retain their own party members. Multiple defections, coupled by regional parties like TMC, SP etc. refusing to ally with Congress, has hit the image of Priyanka Vadra severely. To make matters worse, even people like Chandrashekhar ‘Ravan’ and Mayawati have refused to join hands with the Congress. We wonder whether Congress can even save the 44 seats it managed to muster in 2014 elections.
