RELIANCE ON PM MODI, SIDELINING OF REGIONAL SATRAPS COST BJP DEAR

The Congress and I.N.D.I_A bloc must be rueing over the missed opportunities in the 2024 election particularly in Andbra Pradesh and Odisha where tacit or tactical alliances were not made. In Odisha, Bibar chief minister Nitish Kumar when part of I.N.D.I. Alliance then, had paid a visit to Bhubaneshwar requesting Naveen Patnaik to join the alliance.

- RASHEED KIDWAI

Verdict 2024 has something for everyone. But big credit should go to Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav, Uddhav Thackeray, Mamata Banerjee and Sharad Pawar. Together they provided a lot of strength to I.N.D.I.A bloc has given Narendra Modi, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), National Democratic Alliance (NDA), and a section of hawkish media shivers down their spine. But the opposition would have reasons to reflect and think "What if" they had done more? The Congress and I.N.D.I.A bloc must be rueing over the missed opportunities in the 2024 election particularly in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha where tacit or tactical alliances were not made.

In Odisha, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar when part of I.N.D.I.A bloc then, had paid a visit to Bhubaneshwar requesting Naveen Patnaik to join the alliance.

Still, after Kumar defected to NDA, negotiations were not followed up with the Biju Janata Dal (BJD). By the time results came out, the BJP-NDA gained the bulk of seats from the state, bringing them closer to the working majority.

In coalition politics since the 1980s, Andhra Pradesh and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) have played a historic and crucial role. In 1984, the TDP was the single largest opposition party in the Lok Sabha. Actor turned politician and Chandrababu Naidu's father-in-law, NT Ramarao became the National Front convenor and helped Congress rebel Vishwanath Singh bag the office of prime minister in 1989.

The 1989 National Front Left Front government was supported by the BJP from the outside.