India bloc facing a series of roadblocks

Is it a case of political naivete or a classic one of coming to terms with what the writing on the wall is, one wonders? For a political party which is the oldest in the Indian subcontinent, having clocked nearly 140 years of existence, the last decade has been by far its most challenging, having seen its MPs and MLAs and clout, both depleting alarmingly at the national level. One is referring to the grand old party, the Indian National Congress, which is gearing up to take on the seemingly invincible NDA in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections due in summer of 2024.

Having quickly strung together a motley group of well-known time servers and politically selfish netas and calling it INDIA a few months ago with just one theme of anti-Modiism, Congress was almost convinced it was within touching distance of grabbing power in the forthcoming elections. It either didn’t factor in the glaring political incompatibility between the group members or decided to rough it out, only because they wanted to unseat the man at the top currently, who was proving too tough to beat, if they wanted to take him on, one-to-one.

The last one month has been a terrible time the Kharge-led party had to endure. What was known to the public at large, (which in any case has its ear to the ground and is funda clear with its preferences) was sadly missing among the veterans of GOP who saw its erstwhile partners, breaking away or offering them crumbs, insulting its political worth and worse, demonstrating their distrust on the abilities of Congress to mount an effective counterattack to Modi’s sureshot winning ways.

After Sonia Gandhi sent a very clear signal that she has neither the health nor the heart to fight the harsh heat and light of UP politics by opting to go to the House of Elders, one of the mainstays, Farooq Abdullah has also decided to snap ties with the anti-Modi bloc. This after Arvind Kejriwal, a recently emerged political figure, dared to give only one seat to Congress in Delhi keeping six for itself, in a city which has returned BJP with a cent per cent score – 7/7 - in the last two LS elections.

A heady concoction of Hindutva, development, diplomacy and a customised promise to cater to each of its constituencies has kept the NDA bloc battle-ready and straining at the leash to get going. The generals of the saffron party in the war room are revisiting their plans, revising their strategies and keeping in regular touch with the field workers, which is what is likely to ensure them an exclusive 300+ mark as far as seats go.

Where does this leave the anti-Modi parties which are now fumbling for a clear route map and unsure whether the big brother Congress will step in to give it a sense of direction? Two decades ago, the Vajpayee-led NDA government, too, was unfazed till the end as it campaigned for the 2004 polls only to see a different verdict being handed out by the people. In 2024, too, unless and until, the people, for their own reasons feel the ragtag bunch of Modi haters deserve their place, it surely seems impossible as of today for them to even dream of bagging the top slot.