Sibal said the Congress’s victory in the Karnataka Assembly elections was an example of the fact that the BJP can be defeated, but added that Lok Sabha elections are fought on different grounds. The former Union minister also emphasized that the 2024 election fight is not against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but “against the ideology that he wants to uphold”.
UPA-III can be successful in 2024
Sibal said UPA-III could be successful in 2024 provided the opposition parties have a common cause, an agenda that reflects it and proceed with the thought that “a lot needs to be given and gained”.
“There is a need for trade-offs in ticket distribution in states and constituencies where candidates from two or more political parties are contesting for the same seat,” he said by phone from New York. I think UPA-III has a lot of potential once these three things are agreed upon.
Asked whether fielding a joint candidate against the BJP would be practically possible at a time when there are serious differences among leaders in the opposition, Sibal said the talk of differences is an “exaggeration” and that in many states, Some political parties are really effective.
Sibal gave example of many states
For example, the Congress is the real opposition to the BJP in many states like Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. There is no problem in these states. Some states have non-Congress opposition governments, such as in West Bengal. We all know that Trinamool Congress (TMC) is the main partner. There will be very few assembly constituencies in West Bengal where there will be any kind of fight.
Sibal said similarly there would be no problem in Tamil Nadu as the Congress and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) have fought together several times without any real conflict.
“There could be a problem in a state like Telangana. There is no possibility of an opposition alliance in Andhra Pradesh due to a possible triangular contest between Jagan’s (Mohan Reddy) party (YSRCP), the Congress and the Telugu Desam Party (TDP).
There will be a direct fight between Congress and BJP
Sibal said, “In Goa again there will be a direct fight between the Congress and the BJP. The real opposition in Uttar Pradesh is represented by the Samajwadi Party. It would be good to be a junior ally of Rashtriya Lok Dal and Congress. BSP’s Mayawati is not involved in all this, hence there is no possibility of an alliance as she has publicly stated that she will field candidates in all parliamentary constituencies. Congress has no real presence in Bihar as well, so I don’t think there is any problem on that front.
“If the three conditions I talked about are met, seat-sharing will not be a real problem,” he said.
On the Prime Minister’s statement about political stability in recent years and its importance for the country, Sibal said he wanted to question Modi’s assumption. He said, “The kind of instability we have had in the Modi government was not seen during the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) era.”
What stability has Modi ji provided? See what is happening in Manipur.
Sibal alleged that this central government removes elected governments through ‘corrupt’ tactics. “Destabilizing elected governments does not bring stability in governance. This system has sown the seeds of economic, political and social instability in the country.