The INDIA alliance is blowing hot and cold when it comes to targeting its rival – the BJP-led NDA — and Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a personal level. Starting with a meeting in Patna in June and following this up with another meeting in Mumbai by end August, it’s time for another conclave of the high and mighty on the opposition front. But, there is no word on this yet. Meetings by themselves do not take a cause forward. There are no indications that this recently formed alliance is cohesive or that it seeks to have the cutting edge. Worse, its constituents, rather than standing united, are punching each other, as was generally the wont with these entities made up mostly of regional satraps and the Congress party. Internal disenchantment is evident in the statement by Bihar strongman Nitish Kumar that the Congress failed to take the INDIA campaign forward though the party was “granted” the lead role.
The reason cited for this was the grand old party’s preoccupation with the five state assembly polls. For the Congress party, these elections are a ‘do-or-die” battle. It badly seeks to build on the windfall it had in Karnataka – where it neutralized the ruling BJP and grabbed power on the back of a manifesto that promised the moon to major segments of the voters. Chances now are that the Congress could win power in Madhya Pradesh and retain its grip over Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. As the campaign progresses, it is putting up a tough fight with the BRS in Telangana. The Congress calculations are that if it wins at least two of these states, the BJP is neutralized and put on the defensive. Analysts say the anti-incumbency factor is strong in Madhya Pradesh and anything could happen in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. If the Congress gains as much, the gain would be for the INDIA alliance as a whole. If it fails to win at least two of the five states, the BJP would continue to hold its head high.
At the same time, however, the Congress party is duty-bound to maintain the tempo generated from Patna in June. This is the principal warfront for the 2024 parliament polls. If the Congress does not seize this opportunity, the relevance of Rahul Gandhi as its figure-head itself could sooner or later be called into question. On the one hand, the relations between the Congress and the AAP that attended the Patna conclave but staged a walkout over lack of support from it to Arvind Kejriwal on some Delhi-centric issues remain frosty. At another, the Congress and the Samajwadi Party of Akhilesh Yadav are failing to “adjust” in Uttar Pradesh. The Communists would fight the Congress in Kerala. The lack of cohesion and a common vision is there for all to see even today.