I.N.D.I. alliance which was going through indecisiveness over seat sharing among Congress and other parties, is now slowly collapsing as various regional parties have distanced themselves from Congress over the seat sharing issue. TMC is getting ready to fight all seats in West Bengal alone, while AAP is not sharing seats with Congress in Punjab. Another I.N.D.I. bloc party JD(U) has severed its ties with the alliance, and is forming a government with the BJP in Bihar. Now, reports have appeared saying that vague remarks by Rahul Gandhi in the meeting of the I.N.D.I. alliance have caused this turmoil in the opposition alliance.
According to reports, JD(U) sources said the dramatic turn of events took place after the remarks by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi at the last meeting of the opposition alliance. In that meeting, Rahul Gandhi had reportedly said that Nitish Kumar would have to wait for the announcement of his appointment as the convener of the opposition bloc. Rahul Gandhi wanted TMC chief Mamata Banerjee’s approval before announcing Nitish Kumar’s name.
Subsequently, the Bihar Chief Minister turned down the offer due to the appointment of Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge as the President of the I.N.D.I. Alliance. He felt slighted by Rahul Gandhi’s remarks during the meeting. The efforts of Congress functionaries, including Congress president Kharge and CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury, failed to pacify him. Notably, it was Nitish Kumar who took the initiative to form an opposition alliance against the BJP.
This is not the only incident of trouble caused by Rahul Gandhi’s comments during the opposition alliance meeting. On a few other instances, lack of homework by Congress was exposed in front of other regional parties and still, the Congress was expecting more seats in states where it had no presence on the ground.
According to a report by The Indian Express, Congress has struggled to make significant progress in negotiations for seat-sharing with its allies because it continues to engage in lofty rhetoric without adequately preparing or doing the necessary groundwork. SP and RJD approached the talks well-prepared, armed with a detailed analysis of booth-by-booth votes. However, the initial meeting between SP and Congress leaders hit a snag. The discussion came to an abrupt end when SP president Akhilesh Yadav noted that Mahaveer Prasad, the Congress’s proposed candidate for UP’s Bansgaon constituency, had passed away ten years ago. In a subsequent meeting, the SP estimated that the Congress’s strength in UP was at most five seats, while the Congress was pushing for 20 seats. It was only on Saturday (27th January) that Akhilesh Yadav presented a final offer of 11 seats to Congress.
The Aam Aadmi Party is also fighting on its own in Punjab where it was supposed to share seats with Congress as an alliance partner. The state units of AAP in Punjab and Delhi are against alliance with Congress. Moreover, Rahul Gandhi’s attempt at humour did not sit well with Arvind Kejriwal. Gandhi suggested that both parties should decide on the seat-sharing as early as possible because he was about to leave for his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra and Arvind Kejriwal might soon be in jail in connection with the Delhi liquor scam. In Bihar, Tejashwi Yadav and Nitish Kumar assessed the Congress’s actual strength at just three seats, leaving little flexibility for negotiations.
Because of Rahul Gandhi’s remarks, the I.N.D.I. alliance finds itself in political turmoil, witnessing a breakdown in seat-sharing negotiations. The alliance, grappling with indecisiveness, now faces fragmentation as regional parties distance themselves. TMC opted to contest alone in West Bengal, AAP refrained from seat-sharing in Punjab and Delhi, and JD(U) parted ways with RJD in Bihar. The catalyst appears to be Rahul Gandhi’s statements during the alliance meeting, leading to a rift with Nitish Kumar, who declined an offer. The Congress’s unpreparedness in seat negotiations added to the alliance’s challenges, exposing rifts and hindering collaboration.