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If the bloc survives, there will be a demand to either throw the Congress out or form a front minus them. It could also have an impact on seat-sharing talks between the RJD and Congress, with the former flexing its muscles
A deserted Congress office as votes are counted for the Delhi elections. (PTI)
Omar Abdullah’s X post on Saturday captures the narrative of the INDIA bloc. In a video clip the J&K chief minister shared tagging an analysis of the Delhi elections, a sage can be heard saying: Jee Bhar Kar Lado, Samaapt Kar Do Ek Doosre Ko [finish each other off by fighting amongst yourself].”
The dig is clearly at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Congress which, towards the end, fought an acrimonious battle against each other. In fact, the Congress’ charges against AAP were similar to the allegations made by the BJP against the Kejriwal-led party. AAP, meanwhile, accused Congress of being paid by the BJP and acting as its ‘B-Team’.
With AAP’s loss in Delhi, the first question is — is the INDIA bloc story over? Congress is bound to face the flak. In fact, Trinamool Congress and Samajwadi Party had decided to campaign for the AAP when they gauged that an aggressive Congress campaign was helping the BJP and dividing anti-BJP votes.
The TMC, for instance, has never been impressed with the Congress’ style of politics. A top TMC leader told News18: “All we wanted — for example in Goa — was that Congress gets into an agreement, keeps the strong seats for itself and gives at least four to us and two to the AAP.” But Congress countered: “Why should they even fight in Goa where they have no base?” TMC then asked: “Why should we not have the ambition to spread beyond Bengal?”
It’s this sematic war which has brought down the INDIA bloc, which in any case has seen little bonhomie. For instance, during the Winter and Budget sessions of Parliament, the Congress-led protests were not joined by the TMC, AAP and even Samajwadi Party.
So what next? If the bloc survives, the Grand Old Party will be left out in the cold. There will be a demand to either throw the Congress out or form a front minus them. If the bloc is alive for some time, there will be demand for a non-Congress face for the coalition.
The failure of AAP could also have an impact on seat-sharing talks between the RJD and Congress, with the former flexing its muscles.
All this will drill the final nail in the coffin.
