JOIN USBuoyed by the success in the Bihar byelections, the Congress is keen on forming another coalition against the BJP in Jharkhand, where Assembly elections are expected to be held later this year.
The Bihar byelection, in which the UPA emerged victorious in 10 out of 18 seats, proved to be a morale booster to the Congress rank after a humiliating defeat in the Lok Sabha elections. “The bypoll results are a negation of the Modi wave, which the BJP had tried to create during the campaign,” AICC general secretary Shakeel Ahmed said.
In Bihar, it was a marriage of convenience as arch rivals Lalu Prasad and Nitish Kumar tied up with the Congress, with both of their parties, the Rashtriya Janata Dal and Janata Dal (United) respectively, having performed miserably in the Lok Sabha elections.
The “Modi wave” had swept away crucial caste-equations for the survival of the RJD and the JD(U). The Congress this time decided to depend on regional allies, as it did several years ago, to resuscitate its dwindling presence.
The first test of the RJD-JD(U)-Congress alliance was the byelections to the 10 Assembly seats in Bihar, which the trio won with flying colours. The BJP managed to cling on to four seats, while the alliance bagged six.
The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and the Congress run a coalition government in Jharkhand and a 60:40 ratio in the 82-seat Assembly has been agreed on. The Congress and the JMM will have to accommodate the JD(U) and the RJD to forge an alliance against the BJP.