The Congress has decided that along with an earnest attack on the failures of the Centre, it would compare the BJP rule in the election-going states to the party’s tenure as part of its poll strategy.Of the five states going to elections towards the year-end, party-ruled Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Delhi would be facing the incumbency factor, most serious in Madhya Pradesh which has seen two tenures of Digvijay Singh. Cong rebel Sanjay inches towards homecoming New Delhi: Sanjay Singh, the man who had contested against Congress president Sonia Gandhi in Amethi, is said to be moving closer to joining the party. Singh, who had left the party in 1987, is in the BJP and his wife Amita Modi is a UP minister. Sources in the UP Congress say talks are on about his prospects if he returns, as Singh has considerable backing in Amethi, Sultanpur and Rae Bareilly constituencies. The final stage of negotiations is expected to be held in the capital next week, when he is scheduled to meet Sonia. However, other sources say there may still be two major stumbling blocks before the decision to rejoin is taken. First, as Modi is part of the BJP-BSP government in UP both parties would try to avert a setback in the state. Though Singh may be keen on shifting his decision may not be entirely independent of the position Modi takes. Secondly, political compulsions apart, Sonia would have to consider the fact that Singh, as a BJP candidate, had fought elections against Congress candidates in Amethi. Kota Neelima At the first Election Strategy Committee meeting of the party today, the plan for Chhattigarh, Delhi and Mizoram was roughly charted out.The committee, headed by Manmohan Singh, would be studying the strategy for MP and Rajasthan tomorrow. Committee member Ambika Soni said: ‘‘The strategy would be based on a comparison between the way the state was before the Congress was elected and now.’’‘‘We would stress that any initiative that the Centre has taken has come through only because of the Congress demand,’’ she said.On dealing with the anti-incumbency factor, Ambika said: ‘‘All the CMs are asked to give the status of the schemes they have implemented for weaker sections and for development. That is why we are confident that as all the Congress governments have performed, they would not face anti-incumbency factor.’’
