NEW DELHI: With JD(U) of Nitish Kumar bolting, the INDIA gates have eyes peeled for more possible exits, amid a fresh crisis of optics for the
opposition alliance
just when it was hoping to hit the road for the tough Lok Sabha elections to be held in the backdrop of Ayodhya and renewed BJP ascendancy following the assembly wins.
Congress slammed Nitish with derisive epithets like "chameleon" and "traitor", while party president Mallikarjun Kharge said RJD supremo Lalu Prasad had warned about the "unreliable" Kumar jumping ship to the BJP side. But what looked like impotent rage of the anti-BJP camp could do little to rubbish the concerns that Nitish's exit only undercuts the attempts to mount a national alternative to BJP. The opposition has viewed Bihar, Maharashtra and West Bengal as states where grand alliances can whittle down BJP's 2019 tally significantly. Nitish's desertion is set to give a leg up to BJP.
Bihar political crisis: Congress, BJP, RJD leaders react as Nitish Kumar dumps RJD to join BJP again
As observers speculated a pattern that BJP has begun to win back its old allies, well-placed Congress sources played down doomsday concerns by expressing confidence in Shiv Sena staying on board in Maharashtra. A senior leader said 37 of 48 seats have been settled, and some in Mumbai and Marathwada remain to be decided. This could be challenging given Sena's traditional claim in the city and Congress's own history of winning there. A meeting of allies on Jan 30 is crucial in finalising the deal on paper, with hopes of including Bahujan Vikas Aghadi of Prakash Ambedkar in the alliance.
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However, the principal worry remains West Bengal, where Congress is ready to dump its old ally Left bloc for Trinamool Congress, but the latter has now announced it will go solo. Congress leaders expressed confidence that Mamata Banerjee would relent, and was only playing hardball owing to pinpricks created by the local unit. Even though Congress and Left have a pact in Bengal, a Congress failure to switch allies despite the wish will come across as a serious blow in the backdrop of realignment in Bihar, and Congress is cognisant of the consequences.
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As if to mitigate the Bihar shocker, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav announced a 11-seat share for Congress in Uttar Pradesh coinciding with the Patna rumblings on Saturday, to allay worries and to send out a message of INDIA unity. SP has already sealed a deal with RLD of Jayant Chaudhary. SP on Sunday said a second round of talks with Congress was on, indicating a possible increase in share. Congress sources said the discussions led by former CM Ashok Gehlot are seat-wise. But challenges remain as it is being said that RLD has asked for more seats.
Congress sources said 13 of 14 seats in Jharkhand have been finalised, the Tamil Nadu alliance is on auto pilot but there is no finality yet on J&K and Delhi. "Announcements will start coming from next week. It will clear all doubts. We have no concerns about Maharashtra and we are hopeful that TMC too will join hands," a key AICC office-bearer said.
But seat-sharing will just be the first step, since the allies have to kickstart campaigning for a contest that is sure to witness BJP channel rhetoric and resources to canvass voters nationally. Evolving a cogent strategy on "failure of Modi government", "caste census" and local issues without further loss of time is another hurdle that the bloc has to surmount.
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