NEW DELHI: Has INDIA bloc become a burden for the opposition parties? The anti-BJP alliance which was launched with much fanfare and anticipation in the run up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections seems to be gasping for breath. Every assembly election since the formation of the INDIA bloc has brought to fore the internal contradictions within the alliance – with several allies at the national level being rivals in the states.
The Congress, which leads the alliance at present, has increasingly faced resistance from some of the regional parties, especially after its dismal electoral performance in Haryana and Maharashtra.
The latest round of tussle within the coalition in Delhi has taken an ugly turn with the Congress and Arvind Kejriwal‘s AAP engaging in an open war of words, accusing and targeting each other – much to the discomfort of other alliance partners.
On Thursday, Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah expressed dismay over the lack of clarity regarding the leadership and agenda of the INDIA bloc and said the alliance should be wound up if it was meant only for parliamentary elections.
“After the assembly elections in Delhi, they should call all the alliance members for a meeting. If this alliance was only for the parliamentary elections, it should be wound up, and we will work separately. But if it is meant for assembly elections as well, we will have to sit together and work collectively,” Abdullah said.
His remarks come amid assertions by the Congress and RJD, another key partner of the alliance in Bihar, that INDIA bloc was formed only for coordination during the Lok Sabha elections.
Congress leader Pawan Khera on Thursday reiterated that INDIA bloc was formed exclusively for Lok Sabha elections and asserted that the party is gaining significant momentum ahead of the Delhi assembly elections.
“The INDIA bloc was formed for the Lok Sabha elections at the national level. Based on the situation in different states, whether it is the Congress or regional parties, they decide independently, whether to fight together or separately,” Khera said.
According to reports, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav had recently told reporters that there was nothing unusual about the Congress and AAP fighting separately in Delhi, where they had come together “only for the Lok Sabha polls”.
His remarks assume significance as assembly elections are due in Bihar towards the end of this year and the RJD and the Congress are in alliance in the state. The relationship between the two parties was strained recently when RJD supremo Lalu Prasad backed Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee’s claim for leadership of the INDIA bloc and made light of any objections that Congress could have over this.
The two parties have already started posturing over seat sharing with some Congress leaders citing the party’s strike rate in Lok Sabha elections to seek parity in seat sharing in the assembly elections. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the RJD had contested 26 seats and won 4 while the Congress fought on 9 seats and won 3.
In West Bengal, the Congress and the Trinamool Congress could never work together as Mamata Banerjee refused to agree to the seat-sharing demands of the grand-old-party.
In Kerala, the Congress and the Left parties as rivals engage in bitter politics even as they remain together at the national level and even in West Bengal.
However, it’s not just the regional parties that have snubbed the Congress. In Madhya Pradesh and Haryana, where the Congress was the dominant political player, the party refused to accommodate the demands of INDIA bloc allies leading to a bitter parting of ways in assembly elections.
The Congress, which has ceded its political space to regional parties in several states since 2014, is now desperately trying to reclaim the lost ground. That explains the acrimony that surfaces within the INDIA bloc before every assembly elections. Clearly, the stakeholders need to decide if they want to disband the INDIA bloc till the next Lok Sabha elections.