INDIA wilting

JAMMU & Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has ruffled quite a few feathers, particularly in the Congress camp, by raising doubts about the INDIA bloc’s future and suggesting that it should be wound up if it was meant only for the parliamentary elections. His obvious targets are two alliance partners — AAP and the Congress — which are working at cross purposes in the Delhi Assembly elections. Omar’s outburst comes in the wake of RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav’s remark that the bloc was formed only for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Putting on a brave face, senior INDIA leader and Omar’s father Farooq Abdullah has claimed that the alliance is about “strengthening India and eliminating hatred”, but he didn’t sound very convincing when he vouched for the bloc’s longevity.

The cracks are undoubtedly widening. The alliance is becoming a rudderless ship, if not a sinking one, merely seven months after its creditable performance in the Lok Sabha elections. Who is at the helm? The Congress took its leadership of INDIA for granted, only to be rudely jolted by successive poll setbacks — first in Haryana and then in Maharashtra. The grand old party is playing second fiddle to regional parties in both Jharkhand and J&K, where INDIA triumphed last year. The Congress has lost not only bragging rights but also the ability to spearhead a pan-India coalition that can challenge the BJP.

The onus, however, is still on the Congress to keep the bloc intact, as pointed out by Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena faction. It continues to be the largest party in the Opposition alliance. The Gandhis — all three of them are in Parliament now — and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge need to reach out to disgruntled allies. The least they can do is to set INDIA’s agenda for this year in consultation with other stakeholders. Letting things drift will be a win-win situation for the BJP.