INDIA bloc’s identity crisis
AAP's poor Delhi election results deepen rifts in the INDIA bloc, with leaders blaming each other while struggling to form a cohesive strategy against BJP.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)’s drubbing in the recently concluded Delhi assembly elections appears to have widened the cracks within the INDIA bloc. Within hours of the counting beginning last week, Jammu and Kashmir chief minister (CM) Omar Abdullah threw a barb, warning against infighting and expressing his frustration — particularly since the Congress, which failed to win a single seat for the third time in a row, played spoiler to the AAP in some key constituencies. The AAP then raced to save its administration in Punjab, with party chief Arvind Kejriwal scheduling a meeting with Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, ministers, and party lawmakers in Delhi amid speculation of growing dissension. At the same time, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee has blamed both the AAP and the Congress for the debacles in Haryana and Delhi respectively and made it clear that she will fight alone in elections in her state next year.
The INDIA bloc was never meant to be an ideologically seamless alliance. So, some push-and-pull in a coalition trying to take on the BJP’s electoral juggernaut is to be expected. If the Congress is unable to take on the BJP effectively — organisationally, strategically and electorally — it will find its position squeezed by other partners. Regional parties continue to see the Congress as a hindrance and an adversary and are sceptical of the party’s ability to put together a coherent campaign. Conversely, the Congress sees some regional partners as obstacles to its growth and blames them for its shrinking national footprint. Before elections, too much time is spent on speculating about seat details (in Maharashtra, this conundrum was not resolved even till polling day) and too little on building a common platform, holding joint rallies, coordinating strategies, and pooling together ground resources. Other than in Parliament, the INDIA bloc is barely visible as a coherent force, and even that coordination is missing on some key topics.
This points to a larger lacuna. The bloc exceeded expectations in the 2024 general elections but has failed since to create an ideological and electoral identity that goes beyond opposition to the BJP. With no word on what the bloc stands for, the BJP finds it easy to brand it a band of opportunists. Till this identity crisis is resolved, the bloc will likely continue to be an amorphous force — together in success, disbanded in failure.
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