Once a strong opposition party in the Mumbai Municipal Corporation, the Congress has become a shadow of itself and won just 31 seats in 2017.
“There is a real possibility we could get into single digit because the fight is primarily between the Shiv Sena(Uddhav) and the BJP. The vote would go to the party that people feel is best placed to take on the BJP,” said a Congress leader. He added that a section of the party leadership had briefed senior Congress leaders in Delhi.
A section in the Congress leaders believe the party’s traditional Muslim votes may now go to Uddhav. “Uddhav will get a lot of Muslim votes and with increased polarisation due to the BJP, the All India Majlis E Ittehadul Muslimeen will also make inroads. If we contest alone, we might end up as the biggest loser,” said another Congress leader.
According to a Congress leader, the party’s brass has been told the party should settle for 80 to 85 seats if there is a deal with the Uddhav faction.
Another section of Congress leaders, howver, still believes an alliance could lead to a situation like in Uttar Pradesh and Telangana, where the party is playing a minor role to regional parties.
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