The unity of the newly-formed Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (I.N.D.I.A) is in question after one of its major players left it to join the government-led grouping in Bihar state last week.
Bihar state chief and Janata Dal United (JDU) chief Nitish Kumar rejoined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) after breaking with I.N.D.I.A and resigning from his post.
He retook his oath alongside his new cabinet on Sunday for the record ninth time.
Kumar was instrumental in the formation of I.N.D.I.A that seeks to unite the non-BJP forces to prevent the NDA from winning a third straight term at the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
His switch comes as the bloc struggles to reach an agreement regarding seat sharing and strategy for the upcoming elections.
Impact on I.N.D.I.A
Kumar expressed disappointment with the way things were going in the opposition bloc upon announcing his new administration.
“The new Grand Alliance that we created (in August 2022) is not in a good condition. The situation is not looking good. I have been working hard to make a successful, meaningful (I.N.D.I.A) alliance, but no one else (in the alliance) has been doing anything,” Kumar told reporters on Sunday.
For his part, political analyst Desh Ratan Nigam told Sputnik India that perception matters a lot during elections and Kumar’s exit from the alliance will weaken it.
“Congress has been isolated in the alliance because Mamata Banerjee has decided to go and contest all seats in West Bengal while Punjab state chief Bhagwant Mann had already hinted that there will be no seat sharing in the state. Meanwhile, there is a clear battleline drawn in Maharashtra also,” Nigam stated.
Echoing his views, another political expert, Shekhar Iyer, told Sputnik India that contradictions among the I.N.D.I.A bloc have emerged in public.
“Not only Nitish Kumar but a few other members of the opposition bloc have also sighted several issues like the unilateral behavior of Congress, no discussion on seat sharing and lack of preparations,” Iyer said.
Kumar’s Exit Leaves I.N.D.I.A Bloc Clueless
The political analysts believe that there is a lack of a united strategy in the alliance.
Iyer believes that none of the members of the opposition bloc are concerned about the alliance but rather want to secure their own turf.
“Congress is trying to strike a hard bargain with allies like Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in Tamil Nadu, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray faction) and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) (Sharad Pawar faction) in Maharashtra but things are not working out,” the political analyst said.
Apparently, many local parties see Congress in a bad shape and as such don’t want to compromise much in order to win as many seats as possible.
“They have lost hope in Congress in terms of providing leadership. They have already assessed that Modi is returning to power for the third straight term and they have to save their turf,” he said.
Impact on 2024 Lok Sabha Polls
Both analysts believe that Kumar’s return to the government fold has strengthened the NDA. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the NDA won 39 out of 40 seats in Bihar with Kumar on board.
“Modi was already way ahead in terms of popularity and BJP was far ahead of other political parties in terms of poll preparations. The victory in state assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan had already hinted towards BJP’s win in Lok Sabha. The Ram Temple inauguration and now Kumar’s return will further boost the BJP’s tally,” Iyer said.