New Delhi:
After losing three states in assembly elections 2012 and with a terrible performance in Uttar Pradesh, things look tougher for the Congress at the Centre. The party will not only have to face aggressive opposition in Parliament, it will now be even more dependent on volatile allies.
Before the results were announced, the Congress said it expected to win Punjab, Uttarakhand and Manipur and thought it could play the kingmaker in Uttar Pradesh, where exits polls had predicted a hung Assembly.
But all that is history now. And roles have reversed. A decisive mandate in favour of the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh means its clout at the Centre has gone up. With a spectacular haul of 224 seats in the 403-seat Assembly, it can now form the government on its own in UP and doesn't need an alliance with the Congress as a Plan B. That gives SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav a huge leverage at the Centre, where his party lends support to the UPA on important votes in Parliament. But the SP's bargaining power has now gone up.
In the Rajya Sabha or the upper house, the Congress is in a minority. 58 Rajya Sabha seats will fall vacant in April this year. Ten belong to UP and majority of these will now go to the SP. A strong showing by the Congress could have helped it push its overall tally up in the Rajya Sabha. But its dismal performance means to pass any crucial legislation, it will now have to woo the SP. It will now also be more dependent on volatile allies like Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool, who have already put the brakes on Lokpal, foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail and the Centre's proposal for the new National Counter Terrorism Centre or NCTC.
The BJP yesterday hit out at the Congress and said its lukewarm performance in Uttar Pradesh and the clear mandate for the Samajwadi Party could reshape the alliance at the Centre. BJP leader Sushma Swaraj told NDTV that the seat count shows that a weakened Congress is incapable of serving any longer as the pivot for the UPA coalition. She also highlighted the recent friction within the UPA and said her party reads this as signs of possible mid-term elections in the country.
Before the results were announced, the Congress said it expected to win Punjab, Uttarakhand and Manipur and thought it could play the kingmaker in Uttar Pradesh, where exits polls had predicted a hung Assembly.
But all that is history now. And roles have reversed. A decisive mandate in favour of the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh means its clout at the Centre has gone up. With a spectacular haul of 224 seats in the 403-seat Assembly, it can now form the government on its own in UP and doesn't need an alliance with the Congress as a Plan B. That gives SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav a huge leverage at the Centre, where his party lends support to the UPA on important votes in Parliament. But the SP's bargaining power has now gone up.
In the Rajya Sabha or the upper house, the Congress is in a minority. 58 Rajya Sabha seats will fall vacant in April this year. Ten belong to UP and majority of these will now go to the SP. A strong showing by the Congress could have helped it push its overall tally up in the Rajya Sabha. But its dismal performance means to pass any crucial legislation, it will now have to woo the SP. It will now also be more dependent on volatile allies like Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool, who have already put the brakes on Lokpal, foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail and the Centre's proposal for the new National Counter Terrorism Centre or NCTC.
The BJP yesterday hit out at the Congress and said its lukewarm performance in Uttar Pradesh and the clear mandate for the Samajwadi Party could reshape the alliance at the Centre. BJP leader Sushma Swaraj told NDTV that the seat count shows that a weakened Congress is incapable of serving any longer as the pivot for the UPA coalition. She also highlighted the recent friction within the UPA and said her party reads this as signs of possible mid-term elections in the country.
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