Ahead of the INDIA bloc meeting on Monday, the BJP launched a sharp attack on the opposition alliance, calling it a “figment of imagination” that lacks unity and conviction on the ground.
Top leaders of 23 opposition parties under the INDIA bloc banner are expected to meet to recalibrate their strategy against the BJP and address internal differences following the defeat of key regional players, the TMC and DMK in recent assembly elections.
BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla claimed the alliance was facing an “implosion”, citing growing tensions between the Congress and its allies, including the DMK, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and Left parties.
In a post on X, Poonawalla said the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had also questioned the Congress’ motives behind partnering with regional outfits.
“After DMK versus Congress, after JMM versus Congress and after the complete implosion of the INDI alliance, with the Left attacking the Congress, the Aam Aadmi Party has now also targeted the Congress. It has advised smaller regional parties that the only reason the Congress is coming together with them is to strengthen itself, not the nation, and therefore it will not join the INDI alliance,” he said.
“There is no INDI alliance. It is just a figment of one's imagination. Cosmetic meetings take place, but real conviction on the ground is never seen,” he posted.
Accusing the alliance of lacking a shared agenda, Poonawalla said it had “no mission, no vision, only division”.
“The INDI alliance never had any mission. It was always about confusion, ambition and division. Those divisions are now playing out on a daily basis. Even when these parties came together, they did so not out of conviction but for convenience,” he said.
In a video statement, Poonawalla alleged that regional parties no longer trust the Congress, claiming it tends to “use and throw” its allies.
“The DMK has said the Congress is a backstabber and that it does not want to sit with the party. The JMM has a fight with the Congress over the second Rajya Sabha seat in Jharkhand, saying the Congress did not even ask it.
“The RJD, Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena and other parties feel that the Congress uses them and then throws them,” he said.
“The INDI alliance is only in papers, headlines and cosmetic actions, and never in reality,” he added.
Poonawalla also pointed to instances where INDIA bloc partners contested against each other in states such as West Bengal, Kerala, Punjab, Delhi, Haryana and Rajasthan, raising questions over the alliance’s cohesion.
(With inputs from PTI)
