I.N.D.I.A Bloc: Divided They Will Fall
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By Our Editorial Team
First publised on 2024-01-30 02:23:22
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The India Commentary view
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The I.N.D.I.A bloc received four consecutive setbacks last week and it is debatable whether it will be able to recover from them. First, Mamata Banerjee announced her decision that the TMC will go solo in Bengal and will contest on all 42 Lok Sabha seats. Then Bhagwant Mann declared that there will be no seat-sharing with the Congress in Punjab. Later, Arvind Kejriwal said that AAP will also go solo in Haryana. But the biggest setback was when the architect of opposition unity, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, jumped ship and in his characteristic fashion, left the Mahagathbandhan to join the NDA. He remained chief minister with BJP support.
With the Congress occupied in spending all resources and energy in making Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra a success, it seems that the I.N.D.I.A bloc is headed for disaster. With Bengal, Punjab, Haryana and Bihar not in its fold and with the Congress is direct contest with the BJP in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttaranchal, Karnataka and Haryana, there are not many states where the opposition alliance can fight in a united manner. The Bihar situation worsened because it seems that the RJD was bent on dividing the JD(U) to remove Nitish Kumar as chief minister and the canny politician got wind of the moves. That is why he removed party chief Rajiv Ranjan (Lalan) Singh to assume charge himself a month ago.
If the constituents of the I.N.D.I.A bloc fight among themselves, how are they expected to fight in a united manner against the BJP? In politics, as elsewhere, perception plays a big role in attracting people. The constant bickering of the opposition parties have shown the voters that they are not united and can never unite. In such a situation, will the voters cast their votes in favour of a rag-tag combination that is expected to put an unstable government in place? The opposition had enough time to come together in a decent manner, declare a common agenda, hold proper seat-sharing talks and present a united face before the voters. They wasted that opportunity. The time has now run out for them.
