Amid reports of Nitish Kumar possibly snapping ties with the I.N.D.I. alliance, Janata Dal (United)’s political adviser and spokesperson KC Tyagi blamed the Congress party for the widening rifts in the opposition bloc. He added that the I.N.D.I.A. bloc is on the brink of a collapse with several alliance partners ending ties including in key states like West Bengal, Bihar, and Punjab.
Tyagi accused Congress leaders of repeatedly “insulting” Nitish Kumar. According to him, Nitish Kumar never hankered after a position in the alliance but a section of the Congress leadership repeatedly insulted him.
He also accused Congress of undoing efforts made by the Bihar Chief Minister to consolidate non-Congressi parties under one banner.
“The effort and intention with which Nitish Kumar had formed the INDIA alliance is on the verge of breaking due to the irresponsible and obstinate attitude of Congress,” he said.
According to Tyagi, the I.N.D.I.A. bloc is on the verge of collapse. He added that Kumar could not see how the INDIA bloc parties could fight the “all-powerful” BJP.
Tyagi added, “The INDIA bloc is on the verge of collapse. The alliance of INDIA bloc parties is almost over in Punjab, West Bengal, and Bihar. Kumar never hankered after a position in the alliance but a section of the Congress leadership repeatedly insulted him.”
VIDEO | Bihar political turmoil: "The INDIA alliance is on the brink of a collapse. We had succeeded in bringing all non-Congress parties together but the (alliance) is falling apart. In Punjab and Bihar, the (INDIA) alliance has nearly collapsed. Similarly, in West Bengal, the… pic.twitter.com/dPTX2EUqfc
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) January 27, 2024
He also added that Kumar was “misunderstood”. Further slamming the I.N.D.I.A. alliance partner, Tyagi added that Nitish Kumar succeeded in bringing together several parties in Patna but the entire process became so limp that the I.N.D.I.A. bloc held no joint meetings on leadership and agenda even though the Lok Sabha elections neared.
“There is a big possibility of Akali Dal and BJP coming together in Punjab and the possibility of a fight between Congress and AAP. Similarly, Akhilesh Yadav is also unhappy with the attitude of the Congress Party and has also suggested that they should behave more responsibly. The worst situation is in West Bengal where Congress leaders want to hand over TMC’s elected government to President’s rule. Chief Minister Mamata has further increased the controversy by not allowing Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra. The I.N.D.I.A. alliance that we had is now tattered and is headed towards its decline,” Tyagi further added.
His remarks come amid reports that JD(U) Chief could jump ship and form government in Bihar with BJP after snapping ties with the ruling ‘Mahagathbandhan’.
If the reports indeed come out to be true, it will be the fourth time that Nitish Kumar switched sides in the past decade and the second this term.
Meanwhile, on Saturday (27th January), BJP leader and Union Minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey participated in the foundation laying ceremony of development works with CM Nitish Kumar at Bihar’s Buxar.
The Union Minister said that whatever will happen, will happen according to “God’s wish”. He said, “Whatever is God’s wish, will happen. The first time around, I only brought him (Nitish Kumar) here, and today also I have brought him.”
Woes intensifying for the I.N.D.I.A. bloc, particularly for Congress
A minister of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) government in Tamil Nadu took a dig at the Congress saying that the party was running only to get the seats for its own in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Calling the Congress party “big and old”, DMK Minister Raja Kannappan said that the party had now “lost its strength”.
Earlier, the alliance suffered huge setbacks when the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal and the Aam Aadmi Party in Punjab deserted the alliance.
Earlier on 24th January, All India Trinamool Congress head and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee snapped ties with Congress and announced that her party would fight alone in the state.
“I gave many proposals but they rejected them from the beginning. From then, we have decided to fight the elections in Bengal alone,” Ms Banerjee had said.
The Bengal Chief Minister also claimed she was not informed of Rahul Gandhi’s Nyay Yatra passing through Bengal, contrary to claims by the Congress that they had invited I.N.D.I.A. bloc parties to join the Yatra. The TMC also later denied permission for the Yatra to enter Siliguri.
It was followed by Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann who delivered a further setback to the I.N.D.I. alliance. He declared that AAP will not form a coalition with the Congress party in the state and contest on all 13 seats in the state.
However, in a slight relief for the Congress party and I.N.D.I.A. bloc, Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday announced that his party is ready to give 11 seats to contest for the Congress party. However, as per media reports, the Uttar Pradesh unit of the Congress party has rejected the deal, adding that it is not the Congress’ decision but rather taken by Akhilesh Yadav.
