The Lok Sabha election is just around the corner, with polling to take place in April-May. however, the I.N.D.I. Alliance (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) which was formed as a single cohesive unit of twenty-eight political parties to take down Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), is already facing fractures with leaders like West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Punjab Chief Minister Bhgawant Mann ruling out alliances with the Congress in their respective states.
Despite making lofty claims to overthrow the Bharatiya Janata Party and form a coalition government that would implement a ‘secular and democratic’ regime in the country, they haven’t even been able to reach an agreement on fundamental issues like seat sharing, election policies, and convenor of the bloc to name a few. The parties held several meetings in an attempt to formulate an election strategy but no conclusive outcome emanated from them. Furthermore, they continue to disparage one another and prioritize their own political agendas over the greater good of the alliance.
Tussle over Prime Minister’s face
Reports came out that opposition parties brainstormed to put up a face against Prime Minister Narendra Modi who enjoys unprecedented popularity among the masses. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar wanted to be appointed as the candidate for the post but other parties rejected him and allegedly picked Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge instead. However, no official announcement regarding the decision has been made so far.
Mamata Banerjee too has national ambitions and her name was speculated as the I.N.D.I. Alliance’s PM face several times. But other parties are seemingly unwilling to accept that. The Congress obviously has been projecting Rahul Gandhi as their ‘leader’ but considering the utter failures of several previous attempts to ‘launch’ Rahul Gandhi, there is no support for the Congress prince among non-Congress parties.
Notably, miffed with the selection Janata Dal-United (JDU) supremo even refused the proposal to become convenor of the alliance. The parties wanted him to take the position along with Mallikarjun Kharge to be the bloc’s chairperson but JDU leader Sanjay Kumar Jha claimed, “The CM (Nitish Kumar) wanted the I.N.D.I. Alliance convenor should be from Congress only.”
JD(U) has been openly criticising the Congress party and its attempts at multiple meetings.
Interestingly, Nitish Kumar did not want the opposition alliance to be named ‘I.N.D.I.A’ because it has the letters ‘NDA’ in it, however, reportedly stated, “All right, if all of you are okay with it then it is fine.”
No seat-sharing formula and no election plan
The plans of the alliance partners to hold joint programs in the run-up to the general election are likely to be hinged on the outcome of the seat-sharing arrangements. However, the latter has turned out to be the biggest roadblock to the future goals of the coalition. Regional parties including the Samajwadi Party, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), and Left parties in Kerala are unwilling to offer substantial seats to Congress due to its poor performance in repeated polls and their own political objectives.
Several meetings of the I.N.D.I.Alliance to discuss seat sharing formula have been unsuccessful. In December 2023, there were reports that the alliance parties wanted to finalise seat sharing formula by December 31. But looking at how AAP and TMC have recently snubbed Congress on seat sharing, it is quite evident that there is no common ground in that department.
Every regional party wants to give only a handful of seats to Congress which is unacceptable to the latter and has led to major friction among alliance partners. It is difficult for the parties to come up with an electoral blueprint to take on the confident NDA when there is so much uncertainty surrounding the number of seats and the crisis is only growing worse with each passing day.
Massive rifts in the alliance
As if overcoming the current obstacles wasn’t difficult enough, two significant coalition partners, the Aam Aadmi Party of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and the West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s All India Trinamool Congress dealt a serious blow to Congress. A furious Mamata Banerjee announced that her party will fight alone in the state. The news was still being processed when Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann declared that AAP would also go solo in the general poll.
Mamata Banerjee’s government even denied permission to Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ to enter Siliguri on 28th January. The administration asserted that the decision was made since the same day was scheduled for an exam. She has earlier accused, “I gave many proposals but they rejected them from the beginning. Since then, we have decided to fight the elections in Bengal alone. They did not even bother to inform me that they would be coming to West Bengal as a matter of courtesy even though I am a part of the I.N.D.I.A bloc. So there is no relation with me as far as Bengal is concerned.”
The decision was reportedly a result of repeated attacks on her by Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury who is serving as the leader of the Indian National Congress in the Lok Sabha as well as head of the party’s West Bengal unit.
She had previously complained, “I suggested the name I.N.D.I.A during the opposition bloc meeting. But whenever I attend the meeting, I find the Left trying to control it. This is not acceptable. I cannot agree with those with whom I had fought for 34 years. Despite such insults, I have adjusted and attended the bloc meetings.”
On the other hand, Bhagwant Mann proclaimed, “The Aam Aadmi Party has shortlisted 40 candidates for the 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab. We are getting a survey done before finalising candidates. Punjab will emerge as a winner in the country. AAP will score 13-0. In Punjab, we will not do anything (alliance with the Congress) like that. We have nothing with the Congress.”
It is important to note that leaders of Congress and AAP in Punjab have consistently been at loggerheads. In fact, the latter won the state by defeating the grand old party following a fierce election campaign.
Nitish Kumar is ready to jump ship again
There are strong speculations that the Bihar Chief Minister and I.N.D.I.A bloc ally Nitish Kumar might return to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) soon. According to insiders, the swearing-in ceremony for the Bihar chief minister with the backing of the BJP is “more or less finalised” at a time when the current Janata Dal (United)-Rashtriya Janata Dal-Congress alliance in Bihar is on the verge of collapse. Sushil Kumar Modi will reportedly be sworn in as the deputy chief minister. The ceremony for taking the oath will occur on 28th January, as per sources.
“These days, people keep promoting their family members in politics. I have drawn inspiration from Karpoori Thakur. You all know that I have never sought to promote any of my family members,” Nitish Kumar recently took a sharp dig at his alliance partners at a rally in Patna.
Former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav’s daughter Rohini Acharya posted three poems in reaction to the statement. The first one read, “Some people declare themselves as socialist stalwarts but their ideology changes like the wind,” followed by another which accused, “Showing anger won’t help as none of their own were qualified enough to carry forward their legacy. Their intentions are not right,” while the third one mocked, “Often, people cannot see their own shortcomings but continue to throw mud at others with impudence.” However, they were deleted later.
Akhilesh Yadav’s anti-Congress stance
Last year, Samajwadi Party president and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav expressed annoyance with the Congress for rejecting his party’s proposal to contest for six seats in Madhya Pradesh through seat-sharing during assembly election. He accused the Congress of “betrayal.” He even charged that he was unaware that the I.N.D.I. Alliance was exclusive to the Lok Sabha elections and not the assembly polls. He even asked people not to vote for Congress and labelled it as “chaalu” (devious) party at a public rally.
He has often intimated that he will not give Congress many seats in the general election because of their dismissal of him during the assembly poll. In addition, he recently voiced his veiled displeasure at not receiving an invitation from Congress to participate in the ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra.’
Conclusion
Although the I.N.D.I. Alliance was portrayed as a partnership formed to fight the election-winning behemoth that is the BJP-led NDA under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with barely weeks left to the Lok Sabha elections in the country, the only significant progress the I.N.D.I. Alliance has made is that they have agreed on an acronym for their so-called coalition. The opposition parties joined forces to stop the electoral war machine of the BJP but their egotistical infight and shortcomings is making it clear that none of the alliance partners are prepared to pose a unified challenge to the BJP.
It is not feasible for the parties that have been at odds for decades to come together and unseat the prime minister without eventually their internal divisions surfacing sooner or later. As the Lok Sabha elections loom closer, it is becoming evident that it is not the NDA they are battling, but each other.
Additionally, the BJP won spectacularly in the assembly elections in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan which further undermined the confidence of the I.N.D.I Alliance partners and rattled their alleged ‘unity’.
