NEW DELHI: Sometimes when things fall apart they may actually fall into place. Calls for re-negotiations within the INDIA bloc were heard after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) made a comeback in Delhi after 27 years due to the ugly slugfest between INDIA bloc allies – Congress and AAP.
After BJP swept 48 out of 70 assembly seats, INDIA bloc partners like National Conference and Shiv Sena (UBT) reminded the only two national parties how only a united front could stop the saffron party’s victory campaign.
Delhi Election Results 2025
Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said the outcome of the recently concluded elections could have been different if Congress and AAP had the same political opponent – BJP.
“The early trends show a sharp competition. Had Congress and AAP been together, the results may have been different… The political opponent of AAP and Congress is BJP. Both of them fought to keep BJP from coming to power, but they fought individually. If they had been together then BJP’s defeat must have been confirmed in the first hour (of counting),” Raut said.
Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah also indicated a loss for both AAP and Congress, sharing a meme, which purportedly said, “Jee bhar kar lado. Samaapt kardo ek dusre ko!”
Congress J&K unit also reiterated Omar’s stance and said that the results were a lesson for all who believe that they can fight against the BJP-RSS combine alone.
“The verdict of Delhi is against the AAP, which was in power for 10 years, and its failure to deliver on promises, but also due to its over-ambition and overconfidence to defeat the BJP on its own by going solo in these elections.
“The politics of opportunism, deceit and over-ambition of the AAP led to its defeat and the victory of the BJP,” Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) chief spokesperson Ravinder Sharma said in a statement.
During the run-up to the elections, both AAP and Congress turned hostile towards each other after no consensus was achieved to contest the polls together.
Congress and Arvind Kejriwal’s AAP engaged in an open war of words, accusing and targeting each other – much to the discomfort of other alliance partners.
Rahul Gandhi led the charge against AAP and made relentless attacks on Arvind Kejriwal targeting over corruption allegations. Kejriwal also returned fire and attacked Rahul over the National Herald case.
The fight between the two key allies also divided the other INDIA bloc partners. Samajwadi Party came out openly in support of AAP as Akhilesh Yadav campaigned for Kejriwal. Mamata Banerjee and Sharad Pawar also backed Kejriwal but did not campaign on ground. However, Uddhav Thackery’s Shiv Sena (UBT) stayed neutral.
‘Ek hain to safe hai?’
The opposition alliance was initially conceived with the goal of promoting regional parties in their respective states, giving them a stronger voice in local governance.
However, after the Lok Sabha elections, each state assembly election pointed out the internal contradictions within the alliance, as the grand-old-party often found itself in direct competition with one another at the state level.
The opposition alliance may have to find motivations from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rhetoric ‘Ek hai toh safe hai’ which he used during the Maharashtra assembly polls to Dalits, tribals, and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) to stay united.
The CPM and Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) expressed profound dissatisfaction, stating that internal discord within the INDIA bloc contributed to the saffron party’s electoral success in Delhi.
The Marxist party launched a scathing critique of the Congress, holding them responsible for enabling the BJP’s triumph in Delhi.
While refraining from direct criticism of the Congress, the IUML emphasised that a unified electoral approach by INDIA bloc partners could have effectively prevented the saffron party’s ascent to power.
TP Ramakrishnan, senior CPM leader and ruling LDF convener, contended that the Congress failed to provide adequate backing for the INDIA block’s effective operation.
“There was no support from the side of the Congress. If the party had taken the initiative, the alliance could have functioned more effectively. But the grand old party did not fulfil its responsibility,” he stated.
He further criticised the Congress for not adopting a constructive position in maintaining the INDIA bloc’s unity and cohesion.
Commenting on the BJP’s success in the Delhi elections, seasoned IUML leader P K Kunhalikutty suggested that the outcome could have been averted with INDIA bloc unity.
Kunhalikutty maintained that a different result would have emerged had all alliance members remained united.
As INDIA bloc loses one more election to BJP, maybe it’s time to regroup and fight with a united front?