New Delhi [India], June 8 : The INDIA Bloc is holding a meeting in the Constitution Club in the national capital on Monday, aiming to fill the cracks erupted in the alliance mainly after the recently concluded assembly polls in four states and one union territory.
The Congress is seeking to project unity, with party leader Jairam Ramesh asserting that 23 parties will be attending the meeting. He also maintained that the Opposition parties are "unified."
At the same time, posing a "unified" alliance infront of the comprehensive National Democratic Alliance (NDA)-led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is one of the biggest tasks in front of the INDIA Bloc, especially after its three big parties, the Trinamool Congress, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and Communist Party of India (Marxist) losing in the Assembly polls.
Mamata Banerjee, M.K. Stalin, and Pinarayi Vijayan were widely regarded as formidable regional leaders capable of mounting a strong challenge to the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's political machinery. However, the electoral outcomes painted a more restrained picture. In West Bengal, the Trinamool Congress secured only 80 seats, while the DMK won 59 seats in Tamil Nadu. In Kerala, the Congress-led opposition succeeded in reducing the Left Democratic Front's tally to 35 seats, limiting its dominance in the state.
The DMK has already announced that it will not attend the INDIA Bloc's meeting, calling the Congress's decision to tie up with the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) in Tamil Nadu a "betrayal".
TVK chief Vijay scripted history with 108 seats in Tamil Nadu. Congress, which won five seats in Tamil Nadu, extended support to Vijay to try to touch the majority mark of 118, thus breaking the long relationship with the DMK in the southern state.
Separately, the CPI(M) has also conveyed its concern to Congress over the "systematic campaign" against its leadership during the Keralam Assembly polls, but the party has decided that MP John Brittas will attend the INDIA bloc meeting.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders will not attend the meeting as it quit the INDIA bloc last year, following the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
AAP MP Sanjay Singh said, "We are not a part of the INDIA alliance, so the question doesn't arise of AAP taking part in the meeting."
Shiv Sena (UBT) Chief Uddhav Thackeray will also be attending the meet virtually, while TMC Chief Mamata Banerjee, along with MP Abhishek Banerjee, has arrived in the national capital after TMC's debacle in the assembly polls and the party facing an internal split.
Tensions have also been reported between the Congress and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) after the Congress unilaterally announced a candidate for the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls.
However, JMM decided to bargain for the alliance's unity, giving Congress one seat to contest. JMM has announced MLA Baidyanath Ram, while Congress is set to field party secretary Pranav Jha for the Upper House polls on two seats in Jharkhand.
The Congress and its regional partners often find themselves at odds during State Assembly elections, particularly in states such as West Bengal and Kerala, where they compete against one another. Even in states where they join forces under the INDIA alliance banner, including Bihar with the RJD and Tamil Nadu with the DMK, post-election dynamics frequently expose underlying tensions, leading to strains in their political partnerships.
Congress has won Kerala, but the electoral campaign and outcome created a rift with the CPI and CPI (M), both the partners of Congress in the INDIA Bloc. TMC losing Bengal, giving the BJP its first-ever biggest victory and DMK losing Tamil Nadu can be the issues that could come up in the meeting.
The Samajwadi Party is also an important factor in the alliance, especially taking the upcoming 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections into cognisance. The INDIA Bloc will face an incumbent and strong NDA with SP Chief Akhilesh Yadav expected to lead the charge.
SP scripted history and became the third-largest party in the 2024 general elections, winning 37 seats, four more than the BJP in UP.
In addition to this, many alliance leaders have called Rahul Gandhi 'unapproachable'. The INDIA Bloc needs a strong face to keep the alliance intact in the upcoming times.
Earlier today, posters of Rahul Gandhi appeared on multiple roundabouts in New Delhi ahead of the INDIA bloc meeting. The posters highlighted past statements by Opposition leaders against the Congress MP.
The posters included remarks by NCP (SCP) chief Sharad Pawar, TMC chief Mamata Banerjee, DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin, and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal, against Rahul Gandhi and the Congress.
Notably, there were murmurs by TMC and DMK camps to pose Mamata Banerjee and MK Stalin, respectively, as the INDIA bloc leader for the 2029 General Elections amid anxieties within the Opposition parties regarding Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's leadership. However, with Mamata and Stalin losing not just their respective States, but also their respective constituencies, Congress has an upper hand in bargaining. The party is riding the wave with UDF's big win in Kerala and keeping two seats secure in Karnataka bye-elections.
However, the Congress has no ground in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, which could lead to some friction among the parties in 2029. In the 2024 polls, Congress won 99 seats, but only nine of those came from Tamil Nadu and one from Bengal.
But given the Assembly polls results, Mamata Banerjee, MK Stalin or Pinarayi Vijayan can be expected not to argue to be the alliance leaders.
Conclusively, with the UP elections coming and the 2029 General Elections, the INDIA Bloc would firstly need a unified approach to counter the NDA and the BJP's strong campaigning. Along with this, the alliance would also look out for a strong face, backed by all the opposition parties, that could be put up in front of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's popular face.