Sequels are rarely successful in Indian cinema. Usually, after the audience has seen the original film, the novelty wears off and the story begins to feel stale. That is why the coming together of ‘India-2.0’ again hardly inspires confidence that the alliance that gave an unexpected challenge to the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections can easily repeat the same performance. A lot has changed in the last two years. Congress has suffered electoral setbacks in many big states. Many regional parties, which were the strength of the alliance, have become weak. TMC is falling apart after the defeat in Bengal. Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) have also split in Maharashtra. After losing Delhi, Aam Aadmi Party is fighting a battle to keep itself relevant. In such a situation, ‘India’ seems less like a unity of forces coming together on a common vision and more like a gathering to stop the BJP at any cost in 2029. The problem is that politics is not only a game of arithmetic but also of chemistry. Even though alliances may be formed behind closed doors, voters sense opportunism. Two months ago, Rahul Gandhi was accusing TMC of corruption and internally compromising with BJP. Can the same leaders now come together on one platform and expect that voters will ignore these contradictions? Such contradictions are everywhere. DMK is angry with Congress over its neglect after the defeat in Tamil Nadu. The Aam Aadmi Party also does not seem too keen on sharing the stage with its main rival Congress in Punjab. Left parties are also angry with Congress’ attacks in Kerala elections. In such a situation, this hardly appears to be a picture of a united political alternative. On the contrary, there is clarity in BJP. Voters know what the party’s principles are and who has the right to make the final decision. The supremacy of the BJP has also been established because the opposition appears scattered, uncertain and embroiled in internal conflicts. One of the most interesting things about Indian politics is that many of the current regional parties have emerged from the Congress. TMC, NCP and YSR Congress – all of them have their roots in Congress. Their leaders separated from the Congress due to leadership disputes, political ambitions or regional compulsions, but broadly these parties remain part of the same ideological environment. These parties still bear the imprint of Congress in their name and political identity. In the last four decades, the Congress family disintegrated into many regional parties. As a result, anti-BJP votes kept getting divided. So why not find ways to politically re-unite these branches of the Congress instead of forming yet another fragmented anti-BJP alliance? A merger, or at least an organized unity based on mutual coordination, could give the Congress more energy than a new alliance formed just months before the elections. This will create a strong central axis in opposition politics and Congress will be able to negotiate with smaller allies with strength and not in a weak position. Today this idea may seem impractical. But the history of politics is full of incidents of such reunions that seem beyond expectations. The BJP itself is the result of decades-long integration of the broader Sangh Parivar. So why did the Congress family remain permanently divided? However, for any such success, Congress will also have to change. For the return of the satraps, it will be necessary that the Congress leadership shows its intention to share power and rights. Regional leaders will also have to rise above personal ego, family interests and short-term political gains. It is not possible that any leader would want to lose his decades-old identity and become a mere courtier of Delhi, but it is also not possible that every regional leader expects to remain a ‘kingmaker’ in national politics despite his declining support base. Instead of forming another fragmented alliance, why not find ways to politically regroup the branches that came out of the Congress? Unity based on merger or coordination can give more energy to the Congress. (These are the author’s own views)
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Rajdeep Sardesai’s column: Should the parties formed after breaking away from Congress return to it?
