For 2019 Attack, Congress Hints "Pragmatic Approach" For Tie-Ups

New Delhi: In a signal that the party was willing to demonstrate greater flexibility in forging opposition unity, the Congress on Saturday proposed a "pragmatic approach for cooperation" with like-minded parties and evolving a common workable programme with them to defeat the ruling BJP government.

Sonia Gandhi, the former party president who led the party for 19 years till December last year, has continued to lead the Congress-led national alliance UPA's efforts to expand its reach. Earlier this week, she had again hosted a dinner for opposition leaders from 20 parties to consolidate the grouping.

In her speech at the plenary session, she later recalled how the Congress had given up its go-alone strategy decided at the 1998 Panchmarhi session and embraced coalitions at the party's Shimla session in 2003.

Former President Pranab Mukherjee, who was then a union minister, had last year conceded that he was the only one who had resisted pre-poll alliances at the 2003 meet. But the party, nudged by Mrs Gandhi and former PM Dr Manmohan Singh, decided it was time to change.

The Congress formed the next government in 2004 and 2009 and was able to take many decisions that helped improve the lives of people.

"We want to be first amongst equals with political parties," senior Congress leader Kamal Nath told NDTV.

Sachin Pilot, the Congress leader who has played a key role in scripting the party's success in recent by-elections in Rajasthan, told NDTV that "15 years ago, Congress said we must work in a democracy with like-minded parties and try and diminish the size of people and the party that are trying to break our society".

Congress leaders say the fact was that at a national level, the Congress was the only political party that could take on the BJP. It is a formulation with which Samajwadi Party's Juhie Singh said her party could not disagree.

But there is no clarity how far the Congress would go to accommodate its potential allies; the Congress had played the lead role in the 2004 and 2009 Lok Sabha elections.