Assembly poll results will act as 'Fevicol'

New Delhi: With strains appearing in the Opposition bloc INDIA ahead of the Assembly elections in five states, Congress sources said on Tuesday that the December 3 results would act as ‘Fevicol’ for the alliance and the way forward would be chalked out soon after.

The sources said the Congress is the binding force for the Opposition bloc and the stronger the Congress emerges the better for the alliance. The Congress is hoping to do well in the Assembly polls in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Mizoram. “If Congress wins, it will strengthen INDIA bloc. Planning for the next meeting and the way forward for the alliance would be taken up after campaigning for the state polls ends on November 28,” a senior party leader said. After December 3, everyone will come together and “align like Fevicol”, he said.

“Fevicol will automatically apply on the INDIA bloc parties after the December 3 results.... It will not only strengthen the Congress but the INDIA bloc as a whole,” the leader said.

Congress sources also did not rule out a second edition of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, saying the idea is alive but if it happens it would be on hybrid mode.

Strains have cropped up in the INDIA bloc after Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav blamed the Congress over seat-sharing for the Madhya Pradesh Assembly polls. Earlier, Bihar Chief Minister and JDU supremo Nitish Kumar had referred to the Congress in a sarcastic manner.

The SP and the Congress had differences over seat-sharing for the MP assembly polls as both are fighting the state polls separately despite being part of the opposition INDIA bloc.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is also contesting separately in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan and friction between the partners has increased.

Congress leaders, however, maintain that the alliance was only for the Lok Sabha and not for Assembly polls. “It was clear that the alliance was for Lok Sabha polls. No one talked about state polls,” a senior leader said. “’Judega Bharat, Jeetega INDIA’ slogan was for the Lok Sabha polls, no one talked about the state polls, all of them said it was for Lok Sabha polls,” the leader asserted.