‘Secular’ camp celebrates Congress’ poll misery

NEW DELHI: The decimation of Congress in the assembly elections brought glee to the "secular" camp, with regional parties exuding confidence that the UPA lead player would lose traction on their turf to their benefit.
The irony of ‘secular’ rivals celebrating the Congress’s misery stemmed from calculations about Lok Sabha elections with eyes on Muslims, a key vote base for whom Congress vies with rivals who are potential allies.

The assurance in the UP contingent of Samajwadi Party and BSP is evident as also among some southern outfits and the Left bloc. "There will be no impact of this result in UP," a senior SP leader said, indicating that a weakened Congress would pose less of a threat with minority voters which is an overlapping support base between them.

It was hardly a coincidence that the BSP chose to blockade Parliament over the issue of Muzaffarnagar riots a day after the Congress rout in assembly polls. The clash between SP and BSP over the sensitive issue had Congress play the bystander.

SP has been feeling the heat of Muzaffarnagar riots that has left over 50,000 Muslims stranded in relief camps, with Congress joining the BSP in criticizing the Akhilesh Yadav government. A demoralized Congress may not remain a viable option for minorities, and SP may cross swords directly with local rival BSP.

Mayawati’s BSP, the other "secular" claimant in UP, too would prefer a direct clash with SP.

The defeat in Chhattisgarh , MP, Rajasthan and Delhi at the hands of BJP, coming after the humiliation in key battles like Gujarat assembly polls, is seen to reinforce the message that Congress is not the sole power that can stall the saffron surge.

The perception would work to the advantage of regional parties whom Congress would confront in Lok Sabha polls. Congress weaned away minority votes from local outfits in UP, Bengal, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh in the 2009 elections when the UPA biggie was seen as strongly placed for the central sweepstakes.

Besides "secular" rivals, even Congress allies appear assured that the demoralized senior partner would have to shed some of its "big brother" attitude in the countdown to the 2014 contest.

While Nationalist Congress Party would feel that a defensive Congress would be more accommodative in seat distribution contrary to the voices from Maharashtra Congress leaders, the same appears true for National Conference in J&K and the Bihar outfit — RJD or JD(U) — that Congress decides to allywith.