HOW THE BLOC IS CHIPPING AWAY AT ITSELF

Contradictions between INDIA partners have been coming to fore since the 2024 Lok Sabha results. The Congress can neither go it alone, nor wholeheartedly take others along

- BALBIR PUNJ

recent trading of barbs between two INDIA bloc allies over the Delhi assembly poll showed that the alliance was stitched in a hurry for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. For the uninitiated, the sardonic exchange between Congress scion Rahul Gandhi and Aam Aadmi Party supremo Arvind Kejriwal may have come as a surprise. But it was inherent in the situation. There is little doubt that the 26 stakeholders-from Trinamool Congress in the east to Shiv Sena-UBT in the west, and from DMK in the south to National Conference in the north- had come together in July 2023 with the sole motive of dislodging the BJP.

However, the disparate parties couldn't fuse into a cohesive team without a constructive common programme. The 2024 Lok Sabha results were undoubtedly disappointing for Narendra Modi. But they were an unmitigated disaster for INDIA partners. An unfazed Modi was back in the prime minister's office for the third time. But the glue that held the alliance partners together dissipated fast. Personal ambitions, mutual distrust, lingering bickering and historical baggage laden with ideological contradictions overshadowed the shared goal of taking on Modi.

On January 13, Rahul Gandhi lashed out at Kejriwal with a ferocity he usually reserves for Modi. At a rally in Delhi's Seelampur, Rahul said, "Kejriwal had talked of removing corruption. Has he removed corruption? Just like Modiji's propaganda of making false promises, he follows the same strategy... Pollution, corruption and inflation are on the rise in Delhi." With this, Rahul put Modi-his principal opponent-and Kejriwal, a part of INDIA, at par. He painted a newfound friend and a declared foe with the same brush.