A POSSIBLE alliance between the Congress and Jai Adivasi Yuva Shakti (JAYS), an outfit that got attention after its rallies received good response in tribal areas, hinges on just one seat.
The national convener of JAYS Dr Hiralal Alawa told The Indian Express on Wednesday that the progress of the alliance talks depends on Kukshi, a tribal-dominated seat held by the Congress for more than last three decades.
Alawa met Congress leaders in Delhi Tuesday but admitted that the talks are stuck on Kukshi, the headquarters of his outfit and also its stronghold. JAYS, which is not a registered party, had announced last month that it will field candidates on 80 seats, including 47 reserved for tribals.
Sources in Congress said the new outfit had made an unreasonable demand for 40 seats. “When Congress did not agree to concede so many seats for even an established party like the BSP, there’s no way it can make a concession for an outfit that has no electoral experience,’’ a Congress leader said.
JAYS claims it has a strong presence in more than two dozen seats in Dhar, Khargone, Ratlam, Badwani, Khandwa, Dewas and Burhanpur districts in the Malwa-Nimad region, where the BJP performed well in the 2013 elections.
The fate of the alliance would be known by late this week. Despite claiming that it would release names of candidates well in advance, Congress is still in the process of finalising names in Delhi.