Barely six months after different parties opposed to the Bharatiya Janata Party came to Parliament with renewed vigour, and the Congress was as the principal party in the Opposition, the alliance is losing steam. This development follows the rout Congress faced in the recent assembly elections, in Haryana and Maharashtra, in that order. The Congress’s inability to romp home victors in Haryana, a state where it was on a strong wicket, dented its image as a party that could take on the BJP in a direct contest.
The inefficacy of this arrangement is reflected in the ongoing winter session of Parliament. Members belonging to parties sharing space with the Congress on the platform have questioned the Grand Old Party’s priorities in raising issues both in and outside Parliament. These parties are uncomfortable with Congress raking up issues that are different from the focus the individual constituents have.
Dissonance over the political accent of the Congress resulted in the leaders of the Trinamool Congress in particular, speaking candidly against tactics leading to the stalling of the proceedings of the House. In a change of tack, the Congress members started staging protests outside the House charging proximity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with businessman Gautam Adani. The party members have been encouraged to adopt novel methods and push the message home while allowing the Lok Sabha to work.
There were suggestions from the other allies like the Nationalist Congress Party and the Rashtriya Janata Dal that perhaps it was time for the West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to helm the alliance. On her part, Ms Banerjee, who heads the TMC expressed gratitude over the endorsement and trusted her with leadership of the platform.
Aware of the rumblings within, reports suggested Rahul Gandhi advised his party members not to react to the voices emanating from other party members on this issue. In the same breath, Gandhi suggested that Congress was competent to raise all issues in Parliament.
It is the leadership or the unwillingness to name a convenor of the I.N.D.I. Alliance led to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar parting ways and rejoining the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance. Even now, the Congress would not concede space to other parties to lead the coalition. Now that it is the single largest party in Opposition in the Lok Sabha, this stand takes a firmer footing.
Competing or conflicting interests
The basic bond of the parties in the alliance is opposition to the BJP. Yet, this glue is not strong enough for the parties to allow potential threats to expand base in their respective home states. For instance, in UP even though the Samajwadi Party accommodated the Congress in the Lok Sabha elections it will not be liberal when the elections to the state assembly are held in a couple of years.
The Congress lacks both a presence and organisational strength, a situation mirrored in Bihar. Here, the RJD is likely to dominate the seat allocation process when assembly elections are held next autumn.
Trinamool Congress was formed by Mamata Banerjee in 1998 after she came out of the Congress and since then has grown in strength. During the initial tenure of the BJP-led NDA under Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, she was part of the alliance.
The Shiv Sena under Uddhav Thackeray remains upset because the Congress refused to project him as the Chief Ministerial candidate for the Maha Vikas Aghadi. Meanwhile, the NCP, led by Sharad Pawar, is facing an existential crisis. The party’s succession plan must be solidified before the octogenarian founder loses further control.
Way out of the confusion
Political traction Rahul Gandhi gathered during the Bharat Jodo Yatra and the success during the Lok Sabha elections, allowed him to gain some stature among allies. However, the acquired status was dented post-Haryana and Maharashtra and can only be resurrected at the hustings. Both within the party and allies, unless Rahul Gandhi delivers an electoral victory his acceptance as a leader will be increasingly challenged.
Rahul Gandhi and the Congress Party in Parliament can have a working arrangement in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha by forming a shadow cabinet with allies being farmed out with the responsibility of tracking specific Ministries. This would allow the constituents on this side of the aisle to take on the government in a more effective manner rather than dispersing energies to the benefit of the governing coalition.
—The author, K V Prasad, is an author and political analyst. The views expressed are personal.
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