By Rahil Nora Chopra
Amid growing speculation over the proposed merger of the two Nationalist Congress Party factions, NCP (SP) working president Supriya Sule on Thursday ruled out any merger saying she had decided to draw the curtains on the issue following her cousin’s death and had received no fresh merger proposal. However, Sharad Pawar aspires to reunite the party he founded in 1999. NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar has also dismissed speculation about an imminent merger, saying there had been no such discussion within his party. Additionally, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and NCP chief Sunetra Pawar and her son Parth are not in favour of any merger. At a recent meeting of senior NCP leaders with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi, the BJP urged them to expedite the merger. However, another possibility being discussed is whether the two NCP factions could independently put out their respective support to NDA without formally merging. Such an arrangement would lead the BJP to procure political support from both sides without requiring an immediate organisational reunification. Sources within the NCP (SP) indicate that some leaders have conveyed their reservations over the possibility of the reunited party joining the NDA. They have reportedly made it clear that they would rather explore an alternative political path than become part of the BJP-led alliance. The merger remains a possibility rather than an established political arrangement, for now. The meetings, public statements and competing claims provide that negotiations over leadership, organisational control and political alignment could prove as consequential as no less the merger itself.
2027 UP ASSEMBLY POLLS: PRIYANKA MEETS UPCC LEADERS, TALKS STRATEGY
With the Congress commencing to put its organisational and electoral machinery in place for the 2027 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is looking for a more active role in the state’s affairs. Recently, she held an interaction session with senior Uttar Pradesh Congress leaders in New Delhi, during which she reviewed the party’s poll preparedness. According to party sources, the meeting was attended by UP Congress in-charge Rajendra Pal Gautam, state president Aradhana Mishra Mona, UPCC working president and Saharanpur MP Imran Masood and other senior office-bearers and observers. The discussions reportedly emphasized on constituting essential committees such as screening, campaign and management panels. Priyanka may play a prominent role in negotiations with Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav when seat-sharing talks formally start. While Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has emerged as the principal face of the Opposition’s national campaign against the BJP. The Congress leadership also sees the caste census debate as a way to build a broader coalition of OBCs, Dalits, minorities and economically disadvantaged groups. Besides, the recent Opposition campaign around alleged irregularities in electoral processes, symbolised by the slogan “Vote Bachao, Desh Bachao”, forms part of a larger national strategy. Rahul has repeatedly raised questions about electoral processes, constitutional institutions and governance structures.
OWAISI, CHANDRASHEKHAR AZAD JOIN HANDS, FORM ALLIANCE FOR UP POLLS
With the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections approaching, Asaduddin Owaisi’s All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) and Chandrashekhar Azad’s Azad Samaj Party (Kanshiram) declared the formation of a new alliance, the ‘Samajik Parivartan Morcha’. However, Owaisi announced that Azad will be SPM coalition’s Chief Ministerial face and contest all 403 assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh even as Azad appealed to the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Congress to join the new political formation. The move could make the coming electoral contest interesting, particularly in constituencies with a sizeable Muslim and Dalit population. The big question, however, is whether the Owaisi-Azad alliance can cut into the Samajwadi Party’s support base and emerge as a challenge in the 2027 polls.
SAMAJWADI PARTY TO HOLD DALIT OUTREACH MEETS IN UP’S BJP BASTIONS
To woo Dalit votes in UP ahead of the assembly elections in 2027, the Samajwadi Party (SP) is organizing a series of Dalit meets in BJP strongholds in the western region of the state. According to sources, the first such meeting would be conducted on November 15 in Agra, a traditional BJP bastion. BJP had won all the nine assembly seats in the district in 2017 and 2022 assembly elections. The party was also upbeat after its nominee managed to defeat the BJP in the recently held MLC polls for the Teachers seats in Agra. The Jatavs have traditionally supported Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party. Dalits or Scheduled Castes make up about 21 per cent of Uttar Pradesh’s population. The SP is seeking to consolidate its Dalit and backward classes votes, while simultaneously expanding its outreach to other social groups. (IPA Service)
