“We can understand infighting in one or two seats, but 25% of total seats. They are threatening to put each other in jail. Can you put faith in these people who do not trust each other, how can we trust them, it is important for voters to teach them a lesson,” said Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Nanded in Maharashtra this weekend as the first phase of polling got over on April 19.
BJP’s campaigner-in-chief did not randomly select this weekend to lash out at the INDIA bloc for its contradictions and infighting but for a reason. If this Lok Sabha election was about the opposition unity that wasn’t, Phase 2 is bringing out the acrimony like one wouldn’t have imagined when they held hands and sounded euphoric about coming up with an acronym — INDIA — last year in July in Bengaluru.
KERALA: ARREST VS EMERGENCY VS ‘COMPROMISED PLAYER’
In Kerala, the two main constituents of the INDIA bloc — CPM and Congress — are embroiled in a bitter public spat, where chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan has resurrected a decade-old slur against Rahul Gandhi.
It all started with Rahul Gandhi questioning why CM Vijayan — whose party CPM is an ally of the Congress — is not yet arrested like the two other chief ministers — Arvind Kejriwal and Hemant Soren — on charges of corruption. He also insinuated that the central agencies are going soft on the Left leader.
“Two chief ministers are in jail. How come this is not happening to the Chief Minister of Kerala? I am attacking the BJP 24X7, and the Chief Minister of Kerala is attacking me 24X7. This is a bit puzzling,” was how Rahul Gandhi ignited the fire in Kerala. He also questioned the contrast when it came to the CBI and ED’s treatment of other opposition leaders and Vijayan. Gandhi also highlighted how he was grilled by the ED for hours in Delhi, something that was amiss when it comes to the Kerala CM.
It took less than 24 hours for Vijayan, a seasoned Left leader, to hit back rubbing a wound the Congress is yet to learn to live with. Reminding the dark days of Emergency, Vijayan shot back, “Rahul is worried why the Kerala Chief Minister is not being questioned and why he is not being taken into custody… It was your grandmother (Indira Gandhi) who had jailed us for one-and-a-half years (during that period) when she suppressed the entire country.”
In one go, Vijayan not only underscored his commitment to democracy but highlighted the lack of it in Congress. Vijayan also reminded Rahul about an “old” name he is known as in Kerala referring to former chief minister VS Achuthanandan calling Rahul Gandhi “Amul Baby” a decade ago.
The scores were even, the battle was settled. But Priyanka Gandhi waded into the row defending her brother, calling the Left veteran a “compromised player”. “When you are like a compromised player, we cannot win the match. Your chief minister is compromised. He attacks only my brother and the Congress party. He never attacks the BJP. His name had emerged in several scams… But how come the Modi government never puts a case against him, never raids him and no action is taken on him?”, Priyanka Gandhi alleged.
Kerala’s all 20 Parliamentary seats, including Wayanad where Rahul Gandhi is fighting, will go to polls in the second phase on April 26. Across Kerala, the CPIM and the Congress, — allies in the INDIA bloc – will face off each other amidst a heated political discourse.
WEST BENGAL: NO ‘MAMATA’ FOR ADHIR RANJAN CHOWDHURY
If God’s own country has exhibited the implosion of opposition, West Bengal has gone a notch above. Kerala is witnessing just CPM vs Congress. But, in West Bengal, it’s a triangular contest between the Trinamool Congress, Left and Congress.
The year 2024 started with West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee unilaterally announcing in January that her party will fight the Lok Sabha polls “alone” in the state, a remark that rattled the Grand Old Party. Sources say back-channel talks resumed later between the two but the TMC refused to give more than two seats. Even that failed when TMC insisted on fielding a candidate against Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury from Behrampore, sources added. Chowdhury has been the most vocal opposition critic of Banerjee in West Bengal.
As talks finally broke down between the two, the TMC fielded a star candidate, cricketer Yusuf Pathan, with an intent to defeat Chowdhury — who the Congress prioritised over a seat-sharing pact with the TMC. With a sizable Muslim population, TMC’s choice of candidate was a serious consideration to defeat its ally there.
Look at the mud-slinging between the ‘allies’ of the INDIA bloc in Bengal that will put rivals to shame.
This January, Chowdhury called TMC MP Derek O Brien a “foreigner” — a term once the BJP used for Sonia Gandhi. “Derek O’Brien is a foreigner, he knows a lot of things,” he sarcastically said which made him apologise after social media criticism. But the Congress veteran’s remarks came after Derek O’Brien alleged that Chowdhury was working at the behest of the BJP. “Three reasons for the alliance not working in Bengal – Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury,” O’Brien said.
As his party leader Rahul Gandhi was busy picking a fight with Pinarayi Vijayan in Kerala, Chowdhury did not want to be left behind in Bengal where he without naming, referred to Mamata Banerjee as ‘Palti Kumari’ (queen of switching sides) suggesting that the TMC can well tie up with the BJP to save its government in the state. “Just as Nitish Kumar turned ‘paltu kumar’ (king of switching sides) and quit I.N.D.I.A., the ‘Didi’ of Bengal too chose to be ‘palti kumari’ and fled away from the opposition bloc,” Chowdhury said. Earlier this month, he said, Banerjee “shouldn’t be trusted”.
Meanwhile, as Congress and the Left are still exploring a seat-sharing possibility, Mamata Banerjee recently accused them of aligning with the BJP’s interests in West Bengal.
So, is the INDIA bloc unity in shambles? “I have formed the INDIA Alliance and will work on it if the alliance comes to power. But not in Bengal during the election,” said Banerjee accusing Congress, and CPM of dividing the vote to help the BJP.
Even if the opposition’s Bengaluru convention sprung a rare surprise on the BJP by coming up with an acronym similar to this nation (INDIA), it has been successful in killing it before the second phase of the Lok Sabha Election.
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