RAFFLE OF FUSED BULBS

The Bihar drama finally proved the fallaciousness of INDI Alliance. The convener and the initiator of the concept of unity of opposition parties, Nitish Kumar of JDU, finally left the movement on the charges of treason and distrust and joined NDA. Mr. Nitish Kumar is an ambitious politician who knows the pulse of politics.

After leaving NDA in August 2022 he joined hands with RJD whom he had been criticizing as the most corrupt party of Bihar. After the General parliamentary elections in 2019 the opposition specially the Congress received a set back and concluded that it was not possible for the congress to regain power at the center without getting support of other parties. Meanwhile Nitish Kumar, to secure his political future, started meeting leaders of other opposition parties to explore the possibilities of a composite and combined opposition to defeat NDA. His efforts bore fruits and ‘Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance’ was created on 18th July, 2023. Though a name was given to the oppositions efforts to defeat the NDA no further headway could be made. Regional parties like AAP, SP and TMC supported the concept of alliance in other states but did not want to share seats in their own states. Meanwhile, Nitish kumar was undermined by some parties specially Congress. Thus, distrust remained the silent feature of the Alliance.

Meanwhile, Assembly Elections in five States were held in which INDI Alliance was defeated badly and NDA emerged even stronger. Meanwhile differences between RJD and JDU started coming to the surface. Nitish Kumar who is said to know the direction of politics could foresee the results of Parliamentary Election of 2024 and finds himself at a loss if he continues to remain with RJD. So he decided to leave ‘Mahagathbandhan’ and joined NDA to again become the Chief Minister of Bihar - the ninth time in a row. This gave a death blow to the INDI Alliance.

The highhanded attitude of the Congress precipitated the crisis of INDI Alliance. The undertaking of the ‘Bharat Jodo Nyaya Yatra’ without consulting allies forces Mamta Banarjee to declare to contest elections on its own. Arunachal Pradesh is the eastern most state of India. But Rahul Gandhi’s Yatra did not start from Arunachal Pradesh for the simple reason that the Gandhi family can’t alienate China. It is important to know that China lays claim over a major part of Arunachal Pradesh. So respecting the Sovereignty of China, Rahul Gandhi started his Yatra from Manipur. This again showed the pro-China attitude of the Congress.

In fact, hatred cannot become a binding force forever. The INDI Alliance rested on one single plank i.e.’ Modi Hatao’. This single element could not bind horses moving in different directions. Interestingly, leaders of most of these opposition parties including congress are facing grave charges of corruption. They earnestly believe that if Modi remains in power they will not be spared. This helplessness was another adhesive factor of INDI Alliance. But there was not any ideology to cement the Alliance. Different companies have already shown an edge to the ruling NDA over UPA in their opinion polls. These opinion polls made the Congress heartsick. In sheer frustration several opposition parties including Congress refused to attend the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ ceremony of Ram Temple at Ayodhya. This further alienated the major populace of the country. A bird’s eye view of the Indian politics can clearly show that most of these political parties are spent forces which for the time being can’t shine. Thus, the raffle of fused bulb is not likely to lighten in near future and INDI Alliance is most likely to die in suffocation.