Opposition Alliance Crisis: How Bihar Polls Threaten INDIA Bloc Unity

More than a dozen seats are reported to be set for a direct contest between the allies, with nomination to continue for one more day for the second phase of the Assembly election to be held in November.

From Parliamentary to Assembly polls, from the INDIA bloc to Mahagathbandhan, several attempts by political parties opposed to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) could not succeed in stitching together unity.

Overall, as the electoral landscape evolves and alliances shift, the dynamics of such 'friendly' contests and related strategic manoeuvres continue to shape the political landscape.

Meanwhile, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), part of the INDIA bloc, is said to have failed to convince its allies to join hands in the upcoming Bihar Assembly polls.

Now the JMM has decided to go alone and field candidates on six seats in Bihar.

Calling it "betrayal", JMM General Secretary Supriyo Bhattacharya has claimed that once the party wins, it will ensure that the next government in Bihar is not formed without their consent.

The fallout of a disappointing poll result may affect the Hemant Soren-led government in Jharkhand, where Bhattacharya reminded the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) that it has a Minister in the Cabinet.

There has to be mutual respect, the JMM leader said.

RJD de-facto Chief Tejashwi Yadav has evolved as the main arbitrator for seat-sharing since he is leading the largest single party in the Opposition bloc.

Even in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Jharkhand witnessed a division in the alliance when the Communist Party of India (CPI) severed its ties with the INDIA bloc, saying its intention to contest eight out of the 14 Lok Sabha seats.

Notably, the CPI does not hold a single seat in the Lok Sabha from the state.

In neighbouring West Bengal, the INDIA bloc has completely disintegrated.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress (TMC) has refused to accept the allies in either Parliamentary or Assembly polls.

The TMC even challenged the then State Congress Chief and Opposition leader in Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, in his stronghold of Berhampore.

The contest, with support of the significant number of minority voters, sent TMC candidate and former cricketer Yusuf Pathan to the Lok Sabha.

Incidentally, of late, the Congress contests in the state in alliance with once-adversary Left parties.

In the South, INDIA bloc allies in Kerala field candidates in two crucial Lok Sabha seats traditionally held by the Congress.

Even before the Congress renominated Rahul Gandhi, the CPI had announced Annie Raja, a prominent leader and member of its national executive, as its candidate from the Wayanad constituency.

In Thiruvananthapuram Parliamentary constituency, the Left alliance similarly nominated Pannian Ravindran to challenge Congress candidate Shashi Tharoor.

It was however, BJP's Rajeev Chandrasekhar, who came second behind Tharoor trailing by about 16,000 votes while Ravindran came a distant third with a difference of more than 94,000 votes with the BJP candidate.

Again, in Alappuzha, K.C. Venugopal reclaimed the seat for the Congress, beating Communist Party of India's A.M. Ariff by more than 63,000 votes.

This time in Bihar Assembly elections, too many 'not-too-friendly-contests' may spoil the Opposition's political broth.

- IANS