BJP's loss in Bihar has re-instilled confidence in Congress: Former Cong MP

In an exclusive interview to OneIndia, Ramya, former Congress MP from Karnataka's Mandya district said that the result of Bihar assembly elections has re-instilled immunity of the Congress cadre which seemed to have lost faith in itself after debacle in 2014 LS polls.

Having a brief chat on the sidelines of Nandan Nilekani's book launch, she stated that elections should be fought on the plank of social progress and economic development.

When asked if the alliance route helps Congress to step up its tally (as it proved in the Bihar), she said that each state has its own political and electoral dynamics and thus, no such universal rule can be applied in all the states.

She further said that parties should avoid fighting elections on the basis of caste and economic development.

"Politically I can't speak on alliance strategy because I don't have political acumen. But any election that has to be fought in this country cannot be fought on caste and economic growth alone," Ramya said.

Opining this the MP further said, "It has to be fought on the grounds of social progress and economic development. It has to go hand in hand."In a multi-ethnic country one cannot obliterate a section of society. It is all about inclusiveness.

"Whether we should go solo or in alliance is something that has to be discussed with the parties. The party has to inculcate appropriate strategy while fighting the elections," Ramya contended.

After garnering good number of seats in Bihar, Congress is motivated and is bracing up for upcoming assembly elections in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Assam.

Expressing confidence Ramya said, "We have chances of wining again in Assam." However, she also hinted that in other states Congress should ally with regional parties as it lacks political capabilities there.

"The fate of Congress in 2018 Karnataka assembly election will purely rely on the performance of the government," she reviewed.

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The former Congress MP lauded the effort Nandan Nilekani and Viral Shah and said, "The ideas of Nandan and Shah are fascinating and everything has to be implemented asap."

Nilekani through his idea of Aadhar has led to resolving the problem of identity duplication.

Aadhar has seeped in to the grass root level enabling change in India and bringing inclusiveness in its implementation. Moreover, Ramya hoped that the ideas scripted in his book would also be translated into reality by the present government.

She also told that in her short stint as the MP, she was unable to visit all the villages in Mandya district due to time constraint and pointed out that technology is the key to eliminate this problem.

"As Nandan rightly said in the book, only through technology elected representatives could well connect with the individuals, though not being able to present physically," she said.

Watch the Interview