Congress ready with Karnataka-style plan to stop BJP-led NDA; eyes TMC, TDP, SP-BSP support

Even before the Lok Sabha election results, the Congress legal team has prepared three sets of letters in case the party feels it can give a fight to the BJP-led NDA in forming the next government. It is eyeing the support of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Samajwadi Party (SP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Left Front led by the Communist Party of India Marxist.

New Delhi: Even though the Lok Sabha election results 2019 are yet to be announced, the Congress has readied a Karnataka-style plan to make a bid for power at the Centre in case the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance fails to reach the halfway mark of 272 seats. The party have decided to form the Secular Democratic Front (SDF) with anti-BJP parties to stake claim to form the next government at the Centre after Lok Sabha election results are announced and the NDA is short of the magic number.

The Congress legal team has prepared three sets of letters in case the party feels it can give a fight to the BJP-led NDA in forming the next government. The plan includes bringing together parties which are not part of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) currently. These parties include the Trinamool Congress (TMC), Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Samajwadi Party (SP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Left Front led by the Communist Party of India Marxist.

In the Karnataka Assembly election 2018, the BJP emerged as the single-largest party with 104 seats but it was short of the halfway mark of 113. The Congress with 80 MLAs extended support to the Janata Dal Secular which had won 37 seats to cross the 113-seat mark and stakes claim to form the government. One seat each was won by the Bahujan Samaj Party, Karnataka Pragnyavantha Janatha Party (KPJP) and independent.

The exit polls of Lok Sabha election 2019 have predicted a massive win for the BJP-led NDA while the Congress-led UPA is likely to be way behind. The seven-phase Lok Sabha election saw over 67.11 crore voters exercising their franchise in 542 constituencies. Voting in Tamil Nadu’s Vellore Lok seat was cancelled over excessive use of money by different political parties.