NEW DELHI: A little over six months ago, the Congress-led opposition INDIA bloc — the grouping of more than two dozen parties — was on a roll after an impressive performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
However, the bloc’s demoralising defeat in the recent assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana has once again brought internal contradictions and crucial questions on leadership to the fore.
While the main player, Congress, which sees itself as the fulcrum of the opposition unity, faces questions of its relevance and survival, the road ahead for the Opposition unity seems to be rocky. Several INDIA bloc constituents have been called for serious introspection by the Congress on the electoral losses. The latest point of friction has come from Delhi, which goes to polls early next year.
In a significant setback to the Congress, one of the critical players in the INDIA bloc, the AAP, threatened to remove the former from the bloc, putting the much-vaunted Opposition unity on shaky grounds.
Significantly, they jointly fought the Lok Sabha elections in the seven seats in Delhi, which the BJP swept. The threat came on the heels of several key constituents of the INDIA bloc endorsing West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to lead the alliance.
Political observers say that despite the good showing of the Congress in the 2024 general elections with the support of its allies, it failed to act as a glue for the grouping. Though the INDIA bloc secured 238 seats, gaining over 100 seats, disagreements cropped up after Congress’ poor show in Haryana, J&K and Maharashtra.
Trouble mounted for the Congress after its demanding ally, TMC chief Mamata Banerjee, expressed dissatisfaction with the INDIA bloc’s functioning while signalling her intent to take charge of the alliance if given the opportunity. The TMC, which enjoys a formidable position in West Bengal, further bolstered its position by defeating the BJP in recent bypolls.
The fissures in the alliance were apparent during the just-concluded winter session of Parliament when another key player, the Samajwadi Party, flexed muscles and distanced itself from joining Congress in raising the ‘Adani issue’. With 37 members in the Lok Sabha, the SP plays a vital role in the alliance.
Though another key partner in Tamil Nadu, the DMK, has not joined other parties in raising leadership questions, it stayed away from joining the Congress on the ‘Adani issue’ in Parliament. MK Stalin-led DMK is a key partner in the INDIA bloc with 21 seats.
