New Delhi :A day after the Congress lost deposits in both Phulpur and Gorakhpur by-election results, party president Rahul Gandhi made anxious political overtures.
Gandhi met NCP chief Sharad Pawar to discuss the emerging political situation amid reports that he might also meet TMC chief Mamata Banerjee on March 28.
Besides, Gandhi also posted on Twitter remembrances of Kanshi Ram, the late founder of the BSP, calling the latter a “great social reformer who brought latent social forces in touch with politics giving them voice”.
The move came a day after the Congress found itself isolated in the dramatic UP bypoll wins by the SP and BSP alliance.
That Congress squandered the chance to be part of this winning combination might well be weighing on Gandhi’s mind now. There are reports that SP chief Akhilesh Yadav called Gandhi asking him to withdraw Congress candidates from the two byelections but the latter decided to go it alone.
Gandhi on Wednesday hailed the verdicts in Araria, Gorakhpur and Phulpur as a vote against the BJP saying the anti-saffron sentiment had taken root.
The party took heart in the BJP’s shrink in the Lok Sabha even saying that the saffron family had lost a simple majority if allies were to be excluded.
Politically the Congress doesn’t have much to say after the RJD won Araria and SP-BSP won Phulpur and Gorakhpur, especially after they decided not to withdraw their candidates in UP despite arguing for anti-BJP alliances all the time.
The result—Akhilesh Yadav neither attended past Congress chief Sonia Gandhi’s dinner recently nor mentioned Congress in his victory message after UP by-election results.
Congress leaders privately agree to the emerging potential of federal parties to challenge the BJP in different states.
Mamata Banerjee has already initiated the effort of forming a federal anti-BJP front.
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