Cracks within INDIA

INDIA the much talked about united opposition, was formally launched on July 18 and after that, the opposition bloc went all out to attack the Modi government over the issue of letting Manipur under the watch of chief minister N.Biren Singh to slide into a state of anarchy from May 3 and continuing where around 200 have been killed, over 300 injured and some 50,000 forced to shelter in relief camps. In the debate in parliament on the no confidence motion against the government, the INDIA bloc prevailed with facts and figures while the government responded with whataboutery as its form of defense and targeting ‘dynastic political parties’ all of which had nothing to do with Manipur. Anyway, the government does not need to be convincing, since it has brute majority in parliament to steamroll the opposition. There are skeptics who predict that the opposition bloc INDIA will sooner than later, start fighting each other as in the past. This was evident even before parliament session on July 20 when ‘differences’ between the Congress and AAP arose over the Delhi Ordinance Bill. Somehow the difference was resolved after Congress eventually agreed to oppose the Bill which the Centre promulgated on May 19, 2023. The bill was passed by both houses of parliament and now it effectively gives the control of bureaucrats in Delhi to the Centre and neutralizes the recent Supreme Court judgment which gave the control of services to the elected government of Delhi. As the campaign for the state assembly elections in Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan,Madhya Pradesh and Mizoram heats up, the fight has begun. Before the current year 2023 ends, partners of INDIA- Congress and AAP are already firing salvos at each other. What reignited the bitter rivalry between them was about the seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi. The Congress, which came out second after BJP in 2019 wanted to reclaim its past glory by contesting all seven seats. The decision is attributed to Rahul cronies such as Ajay Maken who see AAP as the party’s main enemy in Delhi. In retaliation the AAP vowed it’s Punjab government will fix the Congress and also warned it will contest all seats in Chhattisgarh assembly election, presently ruled by the Congress including Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. In addition, one major conflict area is on who will lead INDIA in 2024? The TMC has already upped the ante by proclaiming West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee as the prime ministerial candidate. Some parties are rooting for Bihar chief minister Nitesh Kumar. The Congress however maintained that the next prime minister should be from the party.The Congress clearly has Rahul Gandhi in mind even though it has not said so. It is clear that some opposition parties within INDIA are not prepared to Rahul as the leader and that leaves Congress in a fix. Some senior Congress leaders who had aired their concerns about Rahul’s incapability today find themselves at the fringes of the party. INDIA needs a capable and mature politician who enjoys the confidence of the constituents to take on Modi in 2024 on the same level. Rahul can resolve this thorny issue if he rules himself out but agreeing to work alongside other parties and reclaiming the family bastion of Amethi in 2024.