Aspirations are what guide humans towards their pursuit. It is the driving force and is essentially the important one. But what differentiates between good and bad in terms of these aspirations is how far a person goes and how much they compromise. This is actually the test of morality and is applicable to any space and aspect of life. In politics also it plays a key role.
Many times, in order to get influential positions or power, the politicians step ahead in compromising for the fulfillment of their aspirations. What they do not understand is how it will impact their persona. The case in point is the I.N.D.I alliance and the political parties, leaders comprising it.
It is no way back when the united opposition tried to throw the biggest competition to the ruling BJP after 10 years of it being in power. Even some who contested out of the I.N.D.I. umbrella, also extended moral support to the bloc. But, six months down the line, their unity remains exposed in front of the citizens.
During the Lok Sabha elections, Congress, Aam Aadmi Party, Samajwadi Party, DMK, IUML, RJD, CPI and NC came together to fight and replace the Modi govt. Inarguably, the unity paid out although not as expected by the alliance but they managed to stop the BJP from getting absolute majority for the third time. Even Congress’ tally also improved to 99.
The election results started a period of political rhetoric where the opposition claimed that they reduced the strong govt to lame duck and the meek three-legged govt will eventually fall. They propagated that the opposition unity in the Parliament would pose resistance for every bill to be passed and they would mount pressure on the government.
However, things turned out differently after these many months, it is the coalition government that is strong and the so-called united opposition front that is weak.
The alliance that was trying to decide on the name of the prime minister a couple of months ago is now facing hurdles to elect the head of their unity block. Be it the Waqf Amendment Bill or the One Nation, One Election Bill (ONOE), the govt has easily done what it wanted and when it wanted and forgot about posing the resistance, the political opposition is not even half way to pose the competition.
The question on leadership is already lingering over as TMC Supremo Mamata Banerjee openly stated that she was the brain behind opposition unity under I.N.D.I. so she would assume leadership if given the opportunity. Her assertion got approval from SP and other alliance partners.
The parting ways were also witnessed on the issue of Congress’ anti-Adani mass hysteria. During the Parliament protests over the Adani row, TMC, SP categorically said that it was not their issue and left Congress high and dry. TMC’s parting away from the Adani issue was a big development as it was not only a major jolt to their I.N.D.I. alliance partner Congress but also to its own uncouth and loudmouth MP. For those unversed, TMC MP Mahua Moitra was at the helm against the government when the Hindenburg report made allegations on Adani in 2023.
What it tells about today’s Indian politics is that the opposition parties think it is Congress that has benefitted from the bloc at the behest of the regional parties. Additionally, they know that Congress would dump the opposition unity when it would deem it fit.
To back this assertion many instances can be sighted. In the Lok Sabha election in Maharashtra, the top gainer in Maha Vikas Aghadi was Congress, despite its ‘tall’ leaders deserting the party. When it came to Assembly elections, the MVA condition worsened and so did the other regional parties’.
In Haryana, the Congress reportedly refused to give seats to AAP. No anticipation is required to say that it did what it did because it doesn’t want to share any seat with any party in the state where it could win alone.
Now in tit-for-tat, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal denied to forge alliance with Congress for the upcoming Delhi elections.
In UP also, Congress benefitted from the Samajwadi Party’s vote transfer. Before Lok Sabha polls, Akhilesh Yadav was campaigning for the MP assembly election.
When he said, “Congress Bahut Chalu Party Hai, Isko Vote Mat Dena“. His statement came after Congress denied alliance in MP. Now after Lok Sabha, the MVA in Maharashtra elections also tried to sideline SP. Later, on the pretext of Uddhav Thackeray’s minor Hindutva tilt, SP itself left the alliance because neither there was any MVA govt nor SP was getting any attention.
In Jharkhand, the Congress is reduced to a small partner and is serving in the alliance because it has nothing of its own. Talking about Jammu and Kashmir, the post election govt formation and Congress’ outside support to Omar Abdullah govt, technically which it doesn’t even require, showed how valuable and trustworthy Congress is for the regional parties.
This became more clear when the Congress faced a setback on the EVM issue from Omar Abdullah recently. I.N.D.I. alliance partner Abdullah reprimanded Congress by exposing its hypocrisy over EVM. He cited his example and said that he lost Lok Sabha elections but won assembly elections in a few months because its not EVMs but voters who decide the fate of elections. He said that he understands it and hence never complained about EVMs.
What’s churning inside the mind of opposition parties is that only regional parties are effective in unified struggle against the BJP and Congress is more of a liability. Besides, they know that their aspirations can never reach zenith until the Congress is at the helm and is hurting the future of the regional parties. It is evident by the fact that only those leaders are openly challenging the Congress leadership who are looking forward and consider themselves safe in state politics.
With the time to come, the conditions would worsen even more for the opposition. But yes, let the 2029 come, these parties will again brew negotiation and this fake unity will again be presented in public to deceive the people.