New Delhi: The Congress on Tuesday deputed observers to the four poll-bound states of Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur. The Congress fears poaching, as it happened in 2017 when despite emerging as the single largest party in Goa and Manipur, the party could not form the government.
Chhattisgarh health Minister T.S. Singh Deo, general secretary Mukul Wasnik and former Union minister and Lok Sabha MP Vincent Pala have been sent to Manipur. Former Union minister Jairam Ramesh who was overseeing elections in Manipur will also stay put.
In Goa, despite emerging as the single largest party, the Congress could not keep its flock together and was unable to shore up the numbers. Karnataka Congress leader D.K. Shivkumar along with former finance minister P Chidambaram have been deputed in Goa. Mr Shivkumar will stay put in Goa till the time the new government is formed in the state. Rajya Sabha MP Deependra Hooda and Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel will be in Uttarakhand. The Congress is confident of going past the majority figure in Uttarakhand but the party is taking no chances in case of a hung Assembly.
In Punjab, the Congress fears a hung assembly and has deputed senior leader Ajay Maken to go to Chandigarh so that urgent assessments can be made. Party Congress spokesman Pawan Khera will be assisting him. According to highly-placed sources, the party is already in touch with candidates from other Opposition parties in Punjab, including those who left Congress to contest the poll.
In this round of Assembly elections the Congress does not want to be caught off guard. Apart from sending observers it has also kept its legal team ready to move court if it suspects something unfair.
Meanwhile, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday said that her party fought the electoral battle hard. "We fought as hard as we could. We will wait and see the results," said Mrs Gandhi Vadra, who was actively involved in the Uttar Pradesh polls.
Mrs Gandhi Vadra, who reached Lucknow on Tuesday to lead a march under the party's 'Ladki Hoon, Lad Sakti Hoon' campaign in Uttar Pradesh, said, "Today's march at Lucknow is to celebrate our 159 women candidates. I think it is a big thing that all of them fought, and on International Women's Day we should celebrate them."
In the 403-member Uttar Pradesh Assembly, the majority mark is 202 and most exit polls have predicted that the BJP and its allies will get a comfortable majority.
