KUALA LUMPUR: MIC wants to help Barisan Nasional (BN) recapture some 40 parliamentary seats, where ethnic Indian voters are "kingmakers", in the 15th General Election (GE15).
MIC vice-president Datuk T. Mohan told the New Sunday Times he was confident that more than 50 per cent of Indian voters would return to the party since the community had lost faith in Pakatan Harapan (PH) after the coalition's 22-month rule.
Mohan said MIC was also more united now under Tan Sri S.A. Vigneswaran's leadership, with no infighting or squabbling among its top leaders.
"PH was a huge letdown for the Indian community because it helmed the government with an opposition mentality.
"It failed to deliver on its promises to abolish tolls and waive National Higher Education Fund Corp loans.
"Despite having four Indian ministers in the PH administration, none of them championed the Indian community's cause because they wanted to present themselves as 'multiracial' leaders.
"Eventually, MIC stepped in to defend the community's interests when Datuk Seri M. Saravanan was appointed human resources minister.
"That is why we (the party) believe the people's support will return to MIC and BN. We have left behind a legacy that PH was unable to match.
"Furthermore, MIC is no longer divided by internal feuds. Vigneswaran is our captain.
"We have got our home in order," he said.
In GE14, MIC fielded candidates in nine parliamentary seats and 18 state seats.
It won only two parliamentary seats — Tapah and Cameron Highlands — and three state seats — Jeram Padang (Negri Sembilan) as well as Tenggaroh and Kahang (Johor).
It was one of the party's poorest outing in a general election, matching its worst-ever performance in the 1969 general election, when it won the same number of parliamentary and state seats.
The party also lost the Cameron Highlands seat after the Election Court nullified former MIC vice-president Datuk C. Sivarraajh's victory in the constituency.
On Sept 18, BN chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi confirmed that MIC would be given the same number of parliamentary seats that it received in previous polls.
Zahid had said the party could negotiate with Umno deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan if it wanted to contest more seats.
And, MIC planned to ask for more seats, Mohan said.
"But we want winnable seats. There is no point fielding MIC candidates in places like Bukit Bintang and Seputeh (where Chinese voters constitute a majority of the population in the two federal constituencies)," he said.
On whether MIC wants to wrest back the Cameron Highlands seat from Umno, Mohan said it was up to BN's top leadership to decide on the matter.
"Personally, there is nothing wrong if BN wants the Orang Asli community to retain the seat because they are the majority there.
"But BN should offer MIC another strong seat," he said.
MIC has held the Cameron Highlands seat since the 11th General Election in 2004.
During the January 2019 by-election, BN fielded Datuk Ramli Mohd Nor, who went on to become the first-ever Orang Asli member of parliament.
At that time, Vigneswaran had insisted that MIC had only "loaned" seat to Umno.
Meanwhile, Mohan hinted that he would most likely contest in Hulu Selangor in GE15 while Vigneswaran was expected to make a bid for MIC's traditional stronghold — Sungai Siput.
"However, the party's Central Working Committee will make the final decision on this."