The BJP on Friday called the INDIA bloc “dead and buried” after the DMK announced it would skip the opposition alliance’s meeting in New Delhi on June 8, marking a major setback for the grouping.
The DMK on Thursday said it would not attend the meeting, citing the participation of the Congress. The move continues its opposition to the national party since the Congress joined hands with the TVK, which won the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.
Reacting to the development, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said the opposition alliance had effectively collapsed following the results of Assembly elections in five states, including Tamil Nadu, Kerala and West Bengal.
"The INDI alliance has now broken into pieces.
It was predicted that on May 4 there would be nothing called the INDI alliance left, and that prediction has come true," BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said, referring to the results of assembly elections in five states, including Tamil Nadu, Kerala and West Bengal.
"The INDI alliance is dead and buried. It may exist on paper and on television screens, but it does not exist in reality," he said.
Citing the DMK's decision to stay away from the meeting, Poonawalla accused the Congress of alienating its allies.
"The DMK has flatly refused to join the Congress at the INDIA alliance meeting scheduled in the coming days. It has said that the Congress has backstabbed it," the BJP spokesperson said in a video statement.
Questioning the alliance’s cohesion, he pointed to political rivalries among opposition parties in multiple states.
"And where does the INDIA alliance exist in reality? Was it together in West Bengal, Punjab, Karnataka, Delhi, Uttarakhand or Madhya Pradesh?" he asked.
Poonawalla also described the opposition grouping as politically opportunistic.
"This alliance was a model of opportunism. There was no mission, only confusion, division and ambition for positions," he said. He further claimed that parties in the alliance remained at odds in states despite projecting unity nationally.
"The Congress and the Left were engaged in political combat in Kerala but claimed friendship in Delhi. They were fighting each other in places like West Bengal but projecting unity in the national capital," he said.
Claiming that regional parties no longer trust the Congress, Poonawalla said allies now view it as unreliable.
"After the DMK was betrayed, all regional parties have understood that the Congress is a deceitful party," he said.
Referring to the Samajwadi Party, he also claimed it had indicated plans to contest the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections independently.
"The Samajwadi Party has already said that it will contest all 403 assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh and will not have any alliance with the Congress," he said, adding that the opposition alliance no longer exists in any meaningful sense.
The DMK, meanwhile, said it would not participate in the opposition meeting next week to respect the sentiments of its cadres, who were deeply hurt by what it described as the Congress party’s betrayal.
(With inputs from PTI)