Prez, VP polls: Schism widens between Congress & TMC

After her loss, opposition vice presidential candidate Margaret Alva, in criticism directed at the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress for not voting for her, said such parties attempted to derail the idea of a united opposition, and their leaders have damaged their own credibility. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said, "It was too bad the TMC didn't support her (Alva)."

The presidential and vice presidential polls lay bare the fault lines within the opposition ranks, especially the Congress and TMC, as they prepare to mount a challenge to the BJP in 2024. The TMC's conduct in the vice presidential polls was more galling for the Congress since it and the rest of the anti-BJP parties accepted Mamata Banerjee-backed Yashwant Sinha, who had joined TMC last year, as the joint opposition presidential candidate.

Also Read: A change in approach by TMC, belated though

Banerjee-led TMC announced it would abstain from the VP election as there was no proper consultation before deciding on the candidate. At the start of her campaign, Alva said this was not the time for 'whataboutery', ego or anger, but the time for courage, leadership and unity, and she had hoped TMC would come around.

On Sunday, Trinamool Congress MP Shatrughan Sinha congratulated Dhankhar on his victory. Sinha said, "Hope, wish & pray you will live up to the expectations of all those who voted & supported you & also those who (were) absent, didn't or couldn't vote or support you."

Apart from the split within their ranks, opposition parties also grappled with cross-voting in the polls. In the presidential election, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha sided with the NDA's choice of Droupadi Murmu. Assam, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh assemblies witnessed many Opposition MLAs voting for Murmu. In the VP poll, Sisir Adhikari and his son Dibyendu Adhikari voted despite their party, the TMC, deciding to abstain.

If Congress believes that TMC betrayed the cause in the two elections, Banerjee's party complains that it isn't accorded the respect it deserves as the third largest party in the Lok Sabha. However, the chinks in the opposition unity, with Lok Sabha polls only 20-odd months away, should trouble anti-BJP parties, for it could hamper an attempt to mount an effective campaign that goes beyond merely an anti-Modi agenda.

The forthcoming elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, where AAP is trying to put up a fight against the ruling BJP and opposition Congress, could lead to more bad blood within the opposition camp. Similarly, assembly elections in Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland early next year could escalate the bitterness between Congress and TMC as the latter believes it is a strong player in Meghalaya and Tripura.