Leadership row hits a hurting Opposition

As Mamata finds backing for the top job, I.N.D.I.A. bloc hits rough weather.

The serious electoral reverses suffered by the I.N.D.I.A. bloc in the Haryana and Maharashtra Assembly elections have hurt the alliance and raised fresh questions about its functioning. These questions have come from within the alliance and from outside.

While the Congress lost fighting on its own in Haryana, the MVA alliance, comprising the Congress, the Sharad Pawar-led NCP and the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, got badly mauled in Maharashtra. The immediate response was a questioning of the Congress’ leadership of the alliance. Trinamool Congress leader and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has said that she is willing to lead the alliance, and she has found support within the bloc.

Both the NCP and the Samajwadi Party have backed her. RJD leader Lalu Prasad Yadav has also said she should lead the alliance. National Conference (NC) leader and Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has said that the Congress has to justify its leadership and should not take it for granted. These are important constituents of the alliance and their views show the discomfort within the bloc with the Congress’ leadership.

The momentum the I.N.D.I.A. bloc and the Congress had gained after the Lok Sabha elections is gone. The Congress’ claim to leadership had been questioned even in the formative days of the alliance. These questions have become more pointed now. The party’s performance is poorer than its allies’ in direct contests with the BJP.

Congress is the largest party in the alliance and has a national presence; but this presence is also stretched too thin to be of electoral use in many states. Many feel that Mamata Banerjee can be a more effective leader than Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge or Rahul Gandhi – this feeling is now being openly articulated by some alliance partners. Mamata Banerjee has thanked the leaders who have expressed their support to her, and the leadership issue is likely to come into greater focus now.

There are differences within the alliance on the issues it should project and the policies it should pursue. In the ongoing parliament session, the Congress has shown keenness to attack the government on the Adani issue but other parties, including the Trinamool Congress and the Samajwadi Party, have not shown much enthusiasm.

The Shiv Sena’s commendation of the demolition of the Babri Masjid invited a backlash from the Samajwadi Party. The partners of an alliance need not agree on every issue if they have bigger issues of common concern. The commonality should also have a stronger basis than mere opposition to the ruling party and government. The confusion over leadership and a show of disunity can only weaken the I.N.D.I.A. bloc.