New Delhi: With the defeat of the Congress led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in Maharashtra Assembly Elections, the country’s oldest political party is now facing its toughest time as the loss in the financial capital came just in the background of loss in Haryana and now the opposition led INDIA bloc is also in crisis with questions being raised on the ‘credibility’ and ‘capability’ of Congress.
Political leaders within the INDIA bloc after the loss in Haryana and Maharashtra are now questioning the relevance of the alliance and are demanding a change of attitude from the Congress.
The winter session of the Parliament that began on November 25 is unlikely to see any collective agenda from the INDIA-bloc members. While issues like- Adani indictment case, turbulence and strife in Manipur and Sambhal riots are likely to echo the ongoing session but there would be no collective unity from the opposition bloc, sources told The Sunday Guardian.
On Monday, both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha stood adjourned for the fifth consecutive day amid protests and slogans in the both houses by opposition parties seeking discussion over the Adani issue, violence in Manipur and Sambhal.
In a sigh of relief, MPs of both the houses have agreed to hold a debate on the Constitution next week.
The breakthrough came on Monday after an all-party meeting with Speaker Om Birla.
The debate on the Constitution will be held on December 13 and 14 in the Lok Sabha, and 16 and 17 in the Rajya Sabha, said Union Minister Kiren Rijiju.
But despite the adjournments and suspension of the houses, cracks are appearing within the INDIA bloc.
A Trinamool Congress leader talking on anonymity told TSG that they are unlikely to raise issues in alignment with the Congress or so to say the INDIA alliance and will focus on their state affairs.
“TMC will sharply focus on people’s issues. We don’t want any specific issue to disrupt the Parliament. Central funding issues, halting of MGNREGA funds for West Bengal, price rise and unemployment would be our main focus”, the leader added.
Another member of INDIA bloc, Samajwadi Party (SP) too raises questions on the strategy of the alliance.
SP Rajya Sabha MP Javed Ali Khan talking to the TSG said “Time has come to reconsider the alliance’s strategy.”
“For the survival of any such alliance, there should be active communication and mutual respect for alliance partners. Is the alliance just existing for the sake of name? As of now, we don’t have any common agenda or no common minimum programme. How can we work then. It’s high time for Congress now to reconsider its strategy if they want to make this alliance politically effective”, he said.
It is worthy to note here that during the seat sharing talks in Maharashtra, Samajawadi Party wanted to contest on 12-15 seats but the Congress state unit was against it.
Later, the party contested independently on seven seats and won on two.
Similarly, during the recent by-polls in Uttar Pradesh the Congress wanted to contest on four seats but things did not work out between these two INDIA bloc parties and in the end SP contested on all the nine seats.
The rift within the INDIA bloc could also be seen when the alliance held a meeting last week to set the tone for the winter session but leaders of the TMC and Jammu Kashmir National Conference failed to mark their presence.
Although, the INDIA alliance won a comfortable win in Jharkhand with bagging 56 seats out of a total of 81 but the Congress remains a junior partner as the party secured 16 seats while Heman Soren led JMM won 34.
The JMM led front victory in Jharkhand shows how the Congress these days has been relying on regional parties for their own survival in the region, a similar trend that was observed in Jammu Kashmir as well.
Similarly in Delhi which will witness the assembly elections in February next year, AAP and Congress, both part of the INDIA bloc are unlikely to witness any alliance.
The cracks within the alliance are clear and crystal and after the loss in Maharashtra, things have become more difficult for the Congress and the party as of now faces a bleak future.