Seven months after its formation, the INDIA bloc is facing its grimmest crisis, reeling under the twin blows of the Trinamool Congress and Aam Aadmi Party’s declarations that they will not have any truck with the Congress in West Bengal and Punjab respectively. However, INDIA leaders are not exactly despondent with the prospect of divisions in the two States as it may help in blunting the anti-incumbency sentiments faced by both ruling parties in the States.
The breakdown of the alliance in West Bengal was anticipated, with the Congress’ local unit — headed by the party’s Lok Sabha leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury — relentlessly attacking the TMC, especially Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, and the prevarication of its Delhi leadership.
WB split expected
“On December 19 at the INDIA meet in Delhi, we had told them that we can offer only two seats. We gave them 12-days to get back to us by December 31. It has been more than a month since. In fact, for the last two-weeks there has been no conversation at all. In the meantime, Mr. Chowdhury carried on making nasty statements about our leadership to which none of our top leaders responded,” a senior TMC leader said.
The TMC’s offer of two seats in West Bengal was based on the Congress performance in the last two Lok Sabha elections where the party garnered less than 4% of the vote share across the State, except in the two constituencies where they won. “We could have perhaps conceded one or two more seats had they shown us the same grace in Assam and Meghalaya,” the TMC leader added. But the Congress leadership in Delhi continued to drag its feet. At the same time, the TMC sources added that they would continue with the courtesies expected from INDIA allies.
Alternative for anti-TMC voters
The Congress responded without rancour, with Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh reiterating former party chief Rahul Gandhi’s words that the INDIA bloc cannot be imagined without Ms. Banerjee or the TMC. “Mamata Banerjee has stated that she will not leave any stone unturned to defeat the BJP. And it is with this spirit that we are entering West Bengal. And when you go on a long journey, you sometimes encounter a few speed breakers or a traffic light. It doesn’t mean that our journey will conclude, it will go on,” Mr. Ramesh said at a press conference in Assam. He also indicated that the Congress has not given up on the talks. A middle way will be found and the INDIA bloc will fight together in the State, he asserted.
Neither the Congress nor the Left see the TMC going alone as a negative development. “A Left voter will not vote for the TMC, but in a bid to vote against them, if there is no viable option available, they could vote for the BJP. With the Congress and Left together, we provide them with a strong alternative. We will be able to block the anti-TMC votes going to the BJP,” a senior Congress leader from the State said.
Seat-wise support possible
In Punjab, both the AAP and Congress State units were dead set against an alliance. For the AAP, it would have meant embracing the political rival whom they had defeated in order to come to power in the State. For the Congress, it would have meant taking on the burden of anti-incumbency of the two-year-old State government.
In Punjab though, the two sides are not ruling out some sort of electoral understanding. “On select seats, where the BJP or Akalis are strong, we can have an understanding to support each other. But there is no need for a pan-Punjab seat division,” a top-ranking AAP leader explained.
