Cracks widen in INDIA bloc as leadership disputes emerge

Opposition unity falters amid one-upmanship, electoral setbacks, and coalition tensions

- ALI CHOUGULE

After a decade of crushing defeats, political rivalry, and leadership issues, 2024 was a year of solace for the Congress and the Opposition. But the jubilation over denying the BJP its solo majority in the 2024 Lok Sabha election, which enabled the Congress and the Opposition to regain a bigger political space in national politics, has proved short-lived as the INDIA bloc now faces challenges in maintaining unity.

Even before the Congress and the Opposition alliance could consolidate the gains of their credible performance in the general election, the coalition suffered serious electoral reverses in the Haryana and Maharashtra assembly elections. As a result, internal rifts in the INDIA bloc have deepened, raising fresh questions about the coalition's leadership and coordination.

As differences within the coalition have come out in the open, doubts about its survival have grown, and this disunity can only weaken the alliance. For instance, during the recent winter session of Parliament, parties like the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Samajwadi Party (SP) took positions divergent from the Congress on issues they wanted to discuss in the House.

After Mamata Banerjee's sharp criticism of the Congress' leadership of the INDIA bloc, leaders from the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, and the SP criticised the Congress for its inability to lead the alliance effectively, suggesting that TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee should helm the Opposition's coalition.