(File photo)

NEW DELHI: Congress's entreaties to three allies for Rajya Sabha berths in their bastions have come unstuck, dealing a blow to the party's hopes of using the coming elections to boost its upper House tally beyond its numbers. The principal opposition party had urged DMK in Tamil Nadu, JMM in Jharkhand and RJD in Bihar for support so that it could field candidates despite lacking the numbers. While DMK would have to concede a seat that it can win on its own, JMM and RJD have the numbers to help a Congress nominee win.

However, all three parties have turned down the requests and Congress would now have to contend with what it can win on its own across state assemblies. A calculation suggests that Congress can win eight seats if it can keep its flock together. The loss of over 20 MLAs, and possibly the state government, in Madhya Pradesh can cost the party the second seat that it was in a position to win in Bhopal.

The party will also have to be careful in Haryana where it has a very thin buffer to win a seat. Given that it requires numbers in the upper House to boost its diminishing political muscle, the refusal of alliance partners to heed its requests suggests that successive Lok Sabha debacles have seriously affected Congress' standing in the anti-BJP axis.

The party commanded a strong position vis-a-vis allies during the UPA decade. But even after losing power in 2014, it continued to have its way with partners in political negotiations. Now, the failure to eke out a single RS seat despite multiple requests marks a serious setback for the principal opposition party.

The most interesting bit happened in Bihar where Congress felt that ally RJD could be persuaded to cede a seat. Given that RJD's core ambitions revolve around the coming assembly elections in October, it was felt that Lalu Prasad's party would want to keep allies in good humour. But when private negotiations did not help, Congress state in-charge Shaktisinh Gohil wrote a letter to RJD "to keep its commitment", triggering a media spectacle. However, RJD shot back with a public refusal.

The same has been the response of DMK. Given that it has always given primacy to state politics, the Dravidian outfit was expected to be more indulgent towards allies after its failure to dislodge AIADMK in the last polls. JMM recently formed the government with the support of Congress, which won its largest tally in many years.

