INDIA bloc stares at existential crisis after latest setback

The rout in Maharashtra assembly election where three main constituents of the bloc were in fray, has thrown the group into existential crisis

Just five months after the general election, in which the INDIA bloc won 30 of the 48 seats in Maharashtra and contributed to the BJP’s reduced tally in the Lok Sabha, the Assembly election results announced on Saturday (November 23, 2024) has thrown the alliance into an existential crisis. 

The views within the bloc ranged from anger against the Congress, which is the largest constituent, to dismissing it as an electoral grouping that has outlived its utility. The doubts over a collection of ideologically heterogeneous and politically divergent parties, voiced by many even at the time of its birth in March 2023, have only grown stronger after two consecutive setbacks in Haryana and Maharashtra. 

The INDIA bloc has not had a meeting since the Lok Sabha results and its leaders haven’t appeared on a common platform. A Left leader pointed out that the group was primarily an electoral platform to avoid division of anti-BJP votes. It was largely successful to this end in the general election. Another Opposition leader from Samajwadi Party noted that the group’s biggest achievement had been that its name always had “a recall”. “The bloc has no joint programmes, has not evolved a joint strategy or a common agenda. It is not tied together in any way other than seat negotiations before elections,” he said. 

While giving credit to the INDIA bloc for its successful run in Jharkhand, senior RJD leader and Rajya Sabha MP Manoj K. Jha underlined that a coalition collective has a different religion and that should be adhered to. “The Lok Sabha results carried a message for both us and the BJP, it seems we didn’t even read the message,” he said. He urged the INDIA bloc constituents to have regular meetings. 

There is also anger against the Congress for disproportionately dictating the agenda of the alliance, especially issues such as “caste census” regardless of whether it resonated with the electorate. Communist Party of India (Marxist) Polit Bureau and Central Committee coordinator Prakash Karat said that the focus had changed in Maharashtra since the Lok Sabha election, which did not reflect in the Opposition’s campaign. CPI general secretary D. Raja said that allies in the INDIA bloc must have mutual trust and serious introspection is needed at this juncture. He also urged the Congress to be more accommodative. 

The Trinamool Congress, which has always stood at a distance from the bloc, once again reiterated its stand. “Trinamool convincingly won all six Assembly seats in West Bengal where byelections were held. Other than the BJP, we were also facing two of the INDIA bloc parties, Congress and CPI(M), which put up candidates in every seat. We do not have an electoral alliance with any party in the bloc, so this is not a question we need to answer”, Derek O’Brien, Trinamool leader in the Rajya Sabha said.

Published - November 23, 2024 08:24 pm IST