Congress Facing Double Challenge Amidst Opposition Coalition Talks
New Delhi, 27th January 2024: The Congress party, attempting to negotiate seat-sharing arrangements within the opposition coalition, now finds itself caught in a double bind. From West Bengal to Punjab, allied parties have outright rejected cooperation, diverting from the party’s electoral strategy. The swift pace of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s new political manoeuvres has disrupted the electoral strategy of the opposition NDA coalition.
Amidst the volatile politics of opposition coalition negotiations, several state leaders within the Congress party have begun questioning its weak strategy regarding seat allocations. In West Bengal, where the state Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury continues to resist aligning with Mamata Banerjee, to Bihar, where leaders are questioning the party’s stance on the Nitish Kumar issue, scepticism is rising within the Congress ranks.
Despite efforts by the Congress high command to salvage the unity within the NDA coalition, Nitish Kumar’s refusal to engage has proven detrimental. Despite numerous attempts by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Nitish remained unavailable over the past four to five days, signalling a failure to contain the significant blow to the opposition coalition’s unity.
It’s evident that maintaining the unity of the opposition, from Trinamool Congress’s Mamata Banerjee to Samajwadi Party’s Akhilesh Yadav, lies in Congress’s hands, while some opposition leaders show no hesitation in holding Congress responsible for not restraining Nitish Kumar. The decision not to appoint Nitish as the coordinator of the NDA alliance is also under scrutiny, hinting at tactical errors by Congress strategists.
As Bihar heads towards elections, it’s not just Mahagathbandhan that faces instability; the NDA coalition is also experiencing fractures, placing the responsibility on the party’s strategists. There are concerns among state leaders that the RJD might exploit the pressure on the party and reduce Congress’s share of seats in the Lok Sabha.
Senior Bihar Congress leader Kishor Kumar Jha hinted at the party’s tactical mistakes, suggesting that given the divergence in JD(U)’s path, Congress should focus on winning at least 15 Lok Sabha seats from RJD.
In Punjab, Congress’s reluctance to ally with AAP mirrors the dilemma faced in Gujarat, Haryana, and Goa. Despite agreeing to the 4:3 formula in Delhi, the announcement of seat-sharing between Congress and AAP remains pending.
Amidst these challenges, Congress’s age-old alliance with RJD in Bihar remains intact, yet some leaders express discontent over the party high command’s handling of JD(U)’s changing political dynamics.
