lok-sabha-elections

Updated: Mar 19, 2019 15:26 IST

Former Union minister Yashwant Sinha on Tuesday tweeted some advice for the opposition party leaders including Congress president Rahul Gandhi. Sinha asked the opposition parties to stop bickering going into the Lok Sabha election. He advised Gandhi to finalise the Congress’s alliances in Bihar, Jharkhand and Delhi.

Sinha, a strong critic of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, offered “unsolicited advice” to the opposition leaders on Twitter. “Unsolicited advice to Rahul Gandhi,” pl finalise your alliances in Bihar, Jharkhand, Delhi and elsewhere today. It is already too late,” read the first tweet posted by the former Union minister.

Unsolicited advice to Rahul Gandhi," pl finalise your alliances in Bihar, Jharkhand, Delhi and elsewhere today. It is already too late. — Yashwant Sinha (@YashwantSinha) March 19, 2019

The Congress is yet to take a final call on the alliances for the Lok Sabha in these three states having 61 Lok Sabha seats. In Bihar, the Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) have not reached to an agreement over seat-sharing.

The Congress- RJD grand alliance in Bihar also comprises of Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP), Hindustani Awam Morcha-Secular, Loktantrik Janata Dal (LJD) and Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP). The leaders have held a few round of talks but failed to arrive at a consensus apparently due to the Congress’s insistence on contesting 11 of 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar.

The RJD has offered the Congress to contest nine seats in the state. The Congress had contested on 12 parliamentary seats in 2014 Lok Sabha election.

In Jharkhand, Yashwant Sinha’s home state, the Congress is in alliance with the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) and the RJD. The seat sharing formula has not been finalised despite a broad agreement among the alliance partners. The Congress is likely to contest seven of 14 Lok Sabha seats in Jharkhand.

In Delhi, the ruling Aam Aadmi Party has offered the Congress to contest seven Lok Sabha seats jointly against the Bharatiya Janata Party, which recorded a clean sweep here in 2014 polls. The Delhi Congress has rejected the proposal to enter into an alliance with the AAP. Delhi Congress chief Sheila Dikshit has publicly voiced her opposition to the proposal. Final decision is likely to come from Congress president Gandhi.

In his second tweet, Yashwant Sinha said, “Unsolicited advice to all leaders of opposition parties, “stop speaking against each other in public. Sort out your differences privately.”

This comes amid public statements made by opposition leaders especially in Uttar Pradesh, where the Congress is contesting the Lok Sabha polls alone. The Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party are in alliance. Announcing their electoral arrangement in January, the two parties stated that they would not field candidates at Amethi and Rae Bareli, the two constituencies represented by Congress president Gandhi and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi respectively.

On Sunday, the Congress had reciprocated saying that it would not contest seven Lok Sabha seats currently held by the key leaders of the BSP-SP alliance in Uttar Pradesh.

BSP chief Mayawati responded to the Congress announcement saying that the party “should not create confusion” with its statements about the grand alliance in Uttar Pradesh. She said the Congress is free to contest all 80 seats in the state as the BSP-SP combine is “capable” of defeating the BJP on its own.

The Lok Sabha election will be held in seven phases between April 11 and May 19 for 543 seats. The counting of votes will take place on May 23.