With Congress’ focus on the Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra (BJNY) during the crucial pre-election phase, alliance partners as well as senior leaders have been unable to echo an anti-BJP narrative till now as the opposition bloc’s anchor party (Congress) is seen to be focusing on the Yatra and not focusing on how to strengthen the Opposition front against the saffron camp.
Because of the Yatra, a CWC member said, the focus has shifted. From elections to yatra. Right now all the focus should have been on elections. All the important leaders in the party who have responsibilities in the organisation are busy with the Yatra. Whether it is social media or other things. Whatever is happening right now is regarding Yatra only. Which is not good. The time Congress party has wasted will not come back. Not waste but the time that they have diverted. In totality focus has shifted which should not have come at this crucial juncture.”
It is being seen that the relatively too much involvement, of General Secretary Organisation KC Venugopal and Media General Secretary Jairam Ramesh, in Nyay Yatra has created an imbalance within the party as it has been unable to constantly address its upcoming election related issues.
Moreover, for now, the significant partners like Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party and AAP haven’t been able to strike out a conclusive deal, neither over seat sharing nor over mutual posturing. Which perhaps has diluted the formidability of INDIA alliance as was projected it to be duraing its formation.
Seeing through the prism of electioneering affairs, leaders say, the yatra led by the supreme leader of Congress (Rahul Gandhi) does not envisage a design to win elections or does not consolidate a common narrative for the upcoming general election that the bloc had proposed (Congress being the common thread in opposition alliance). Congress being a political party with all time political ambitions, the Yatra appears to be languid, untimely and lacking the vehemence to boost confidence among anti BJP parties.
Gaurav Pandhi, coordinator attached to the office of AICC president Malikarjun Kharge, said to The Sunday Guardian, “There is no discontentment in the party, for seat sharing Congress has already constituted committee which looks after it and consultations with other parties are regularly going on. If some parties left they didn’t leave because of hurdles in seat consultation or coordination.”
Pandhi added, “Moreover the yatra that is going on has nothing to do with the coordination or lack of coordination in alliances. It is very far from the truth. The committees for coordination purposes are made and are running smoothly.”
The biggest setback the opposition alliance faced is when Nitish, the one who had helped set INDIA bloc, left the camp. It was being observed that he had earlier (before joining Congress in 2022) thought that he can get a better political standing by joining hands with opposition and by helping overthrow the incumbent BJP at the centre. One by initiating to set up a force against the BJP and another by earning a better constitutional position (post LS win). However, the Congress party did not emit enough strength to counter BJP and could not even establish important committees for the INDIA bloc on time to help conduct the common programmes to reach the desired target of planning to defeating the BJP. Thereby, seeing himself a part of weaker alliance, he jumped to the BJP to secure his prospects.