Whither INDIA?

Even as the Assembly elections in five states are nearing their conclusion, not much has been heard or seen about the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) which was launched with great fanfare at Bengaluru on July 26.

From the domination of the opposition space by the Indian National Congress, it appears the Alliance has not gone any further than the rhetoric of unity blared at its inaugural session.

Of late it seems to be left with little substance in its resolve to counter the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) ruling the Centre.

The way the Congress brusquely rejected the Samajwadi Party’s plea to share seats in the region of Madhya Pradesh closer to Bundelkhand makes it evident that Congress’ ‘go alone’ attitude remains a stumbling block in progress of the alliance which remains steadfast in its determination to counter the saffron party.

The Congress ruled out any arrangement with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Rajasthan and was successful in prevailing some of the probable nominees from that party to join the Congress. It even refused to have any truck with the Communist Party of India (CPI-M) which had two Members in the outgoing Assembly.

All that remained of the Alliance in Rajasthan was the symbolic ceding of a lone seat by way of electoral alliance with the Rashtriya Lok Dal. Similar has been the scenario in Telengana where the Left parties failed in persuading the Congress to concede a couple of seats.

It remains to be seen if the INDIA alliance would be able to initiate any cogent action towards unifying the rank and file of the 28-party amalgam in the run-up to the Lok Sabha which is set to be held in April-May 2024.

The magnanimity the alliance calls for from the Congress is yet to materialize. One wonders if the disparate partners are serious about their objective of dislodging the saffron party from power.