As parties appear to be drifting apart in states, I.N.D.I.A. bloc may face challenges from within in 2026

New Delhi: The I.N.D.I.A. bloc may face challenges from within in 2026, as parties appear to be drifting apart in States.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has already started reading the bloc’s obituary while the Left parties are complaining about the alliance leader Congress’ reluctance in holding consultations to design protests against the ruling BJP.

While the bloc remains united in Parliament, the bonhomie found on the Sansad Marg has not translated into joint actions on the ground, as electoral calculations have forced parties to take belligerent stances against one another.

Though leaders insist that the bloc was limited to the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) had brought the parties together on the streets on multiple occasions but the acceleration it gave did not fructify into something more concrete.

With the Aam Aadmi Party already out of the bloc in the late 2024 before the Delhi elections, with Rahul Gandhi and Arvind Kejriwal trading verbal punches at each other, the losses in Haryana and Maharashtra as well as an unimpressive show in Jammu and Kashmir had raised questions about Congress’ leadership. However, the alliance survived further troubles despite differences.

Boasting of not having entered into an electoral alliance with the Congress in its history, Trinamool Congress now does not allow itself to be seen together with the grand old party in the run up to the West Bengal polls. With Kerala elections in sight, the CPI(M) too has sharpened its arsenal against the Congress.

However, real trouble is seen elsewhere, as a section of the Congress in Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra wants to secede from years-old alliances. There is summering tension among allies in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand too with the same reasoning.

With the Samajwadi Party appearing to be having a rethink about tying up with the Congress for the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections after the latter’s poor show in Bihar, the grand old party has stepped up building its organisation while making some moves. Congress' Uttar Pradesh in-charge Avinash Pande sent a signal to the Samajwadi Party by saying the Bahujan Samajwadi Party could be inducted into I.N.D.I.A. bloc if Mayawati agrees.

In both Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, middle-level leaders with electoral aspirations claim that their dreams are nipped in the bud with restrictive alliances and it also negatively impacts the organisation. Bihar is another State where the Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) are not on good terms while in Jharkhand, alliance leader JMM, Congress and RJD are at loggerheads.

In Maharashtra, the joining hands of the Shiv Sena (UBT) with the Maharashtra Nav Nirman Sena as well as the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) with Ajit Pawar’s NCP for the local body polls have set the tongues wagging. The Congress has joined hands with the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi.

The Sena and NCP affairs are more of a family drama but they could act as a catalyst for the disintegration of the State-level coalition, which will have an impact at the national level. The Congress does not want to be seen with Raj Thackeray-led MNS while it is wary of the coming together of the Pawars.

Though the central leadership may not entertain any thought about leaving the DMK in Tamil Nadu, a section in the Congress wants to explore electoral possibilities with Vijay-led TVK, as they believe that the party needs to come out of the Dravidian party’s shadow. Leaders such as Praveen Chakravarty have attacked the DMK, citing that Tamil Nadu has the highest outstanding debt.