NEW DELHI: Staring at a political abyss in the face of continued decline post-2014 – hastened after 2019 – a flailing opposition came together to give itself the collective moniker ‘INDIA’, vowing to stick together and fight jointly. It enjoyed a surge in fortunes and gave the governing BJP alliance a scare in 2024.The INDIA bloc – stacked with competitive allies – managed to find a fomula that allowed members to back each other despite the odd flaring up of contradictions. It helped the bloc in Jharkhand and J&K last year though it failed to rescue them in Maharashtra where Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress came up rather as a squabbling team.
Bihar was a crucial test for the opposition bloc. RJD, the lead player, was to take along Congress, Left and caste outfits to challenge the JDU-BJP combine. That it came a cropper is bound to raise questions for opposition as key contests await the INDIA bloc in Bengal and Tamil Nadu.TMC chief Mamata Banerjee has made it clear that Congress is too weak to offer any value in an alliance, repeating the 2024 line when the two contested as rivals despite being part of the same umbrella nationally.The immediate challenge for Congress is the Bengal dilemma – should it target Mamata or BJP. A crucial overlapping constituency between TMC and Congress is the large minority populace in Bengal – and it would present a serious conundrum for Congress, which has been quick to dismiss such “secular” rivals in other states as BJP’s “B-team”.Tamil Nadu is a curious case, too. While alliance is a settled subject, with Congress brass and DMK supremo M K Stalin being on “my brother” terms, local Congress is chafing at the ‘domineering’ attitude of ‘big brother’. Local Congress functionaries have been demanding that the terms of partnership be rewritten. And Congress argues that its 8% vote would be critical for DMK in case there’s an AIADMK-headed joint opposition.Some are already blaming Congress’s hard bargaining with RJD – as also vice versa – for delaying the campaign and joint strategy plan in Bihar. The party may have to return to “sacrifice” mode – as in 2024 – to help put the alliance back on track.