Bengaluru: Coalition partners are pulling out all the stops to prevent a collapse of the year-old government, but Congressmen seem resigned to the fact that mid-term elections to the Legislative Assembly are imminent.
Several Congress leaders admitted that MLAs of both parties would jump ship the moment they get the go-ahead signal from the central leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
A senior leader said that after securing a brute majority in the Lok Sabha elections, could anyone expect Prime Minister-elect Narendra Modi and his most trusted lieutenant, Amit Shah, to remain quiet?
“Look what has happened in West Bengal even as we are speak? In less than a week's time the Bharatiya Janata Party has prompted more than 50 councillors from the Trinamul Congress Party to cross over to its side. This is the kind of games they are playing. Therefore, even if we try hard, we may not save the government of the day. But, this does not mean that we are leaving any stone unturned to protect the government," the leader added.
While another leader pointed out that the Bharatiya Janata Party leaders would target three states where the Congress reigns – Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. “They are no more interested to get into "Operation Lotus” kind of scenario as it would dent their image. Instead they will seek fresh mandate in the name of stability. Operation Lotus may be the thinking of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s state unit and this idea have been propagated by camp followers of former chief minister B. S. Yeddyurappa,” the leader added.
Simultaneous polls?
The source added that another reason why the all-powerful duo want to push for mid-term polls is that they can opt for simultaneous polls in 2024 which again will be fought under the leadership of Prime Minister, Narendra Modi.
“These three states will be crucial and they feel that going for mid-term polls would serve them better as they can build the campaign that the coalition is not safe and it hampers growth. Both mostly want these mid-term polls to coincide with elections that are scheduled in November - Maharashtra and Jharkhand. In all likelihood, West Bengal may also face the same fate on the lines of Karnataka. Mr Modi himself had put TMC supremo, Mamata Banerjee's government on notice by stating in one of his electoral speeches that he was directly in-touch with 40 disgruntled TMC MLAs. With this statement, he has hinted that he won't hesitate to pull-down the state government headed by her, hence, it looks like four states headed by Opposition parties in the country are staring at miderm polls,” the source contended.
