Why was the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) formed? Why did parties, whose ideologies are poles apart, decide to come together? And why did the 2024 Lok Sabha elections turn into a do-or-die fight for these Opposition parties?
All these questions were answered by the respective leaders of the alliance parties when they decided to join hands in July last year to contest the ongoing elections. The formation of the INDIA bloc shook the ruling BJP, which took note of the common cause for which the rivals came together.
However, over the last few days, questions have been asked about the viability of the INDIA Bloc, especially in Kerala, thanks to the level to which their leaders have stooped in order to score points off each other.
Congress vs CPM
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is contesting from Wayanad in Kerala, wondered why the state’s Chief Minister and Communist Party of India Marxist (CPM) leader Pinarayi Vijayan was not arrested yet, in an apparent reference to the investigations by central agencies into an illegal payment scam at the CM’s daughter Veena Vijayan’s IT firm, and an alleged scam at a co-operative bank in Thrissur.
“Two chief ministers are in jail. How come this is not happening to the Chief Minister of Kerala? I am attacking the BJP 24×7, and the Chief Minister of Kerala is attacking me 24×7. This is a bit puzzling,” he said at a rally in Kannur, Kerala on April 18.
A day later, addressing an election event in Kozhikode, Vijayan said, “Rahul is worried why the Kerala Chief Minister is not being questioned and why he is not being taken into custody… It was your grandmother (Indira Gandhi) who had jailed us for one-and-a-half years (during the Emergency) when she suppressed the entire country.”
When Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was arrested in the liquor policy case, Rahul Gandhi had severely criticised the BJP government for using central agencies against Opposition parties.
A common agenda?
When the Opposition leaders decided to join hands nationally with the INDIA Bloc, the threat they projected was that “democracy is in danger”. At the regional level, grassroots workers of the parties were flummoxed by the brass’s decision to be in a national alliance with their arch rivals. The rank-and-file, however, appeared to have made their peace and understood the need for an alliance.
In Kerala, the present turn of events seems to be a betrayal of the trust they entrusted with their leadership. It has the potential to affect the alliance’s prospects, giving way for the BJP to exploit the situation.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was quick to pounce on the issue and said in Maharashtra on Saturday, “Congress’s shehzada is facing trouble in Wayanad… The Kerala CM has slammed him in a language which even I do not use. The manner in which he has run away from Amethi, he will quit Wayanad as well.”
Vijayan should take note of the PM’s statement, “…in a language which even I do not use…” It would be wise for Rahul, too, to reflect on his own remarks which led to this situation.
Instead of pulling each other down, the INDIA bloc would do well to focus on its avowed goals. Leaders should use their intelligence, resources and oratory skills to win voters and convince them of why the alliance matters. They must resolve differences and move ahead, devoting their time and effort to overcoming the real hurdles of divisions over key issues in their manifestos, projecting an eligible PM candidate and setting common goals.
yamini.nair@expressindia.com
