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The INDIA alliance formed by the opposition to take on the BJP in the upcoming assembly polls in five states and Lok Sabha elections next year is in troubled waters months before the crucial elections. The constituent parties that formed the alliance earlier this year have not only differed on several key issues but also drawn swords against each other, putting the fate of the opposition front in jeopardy.
Punjab
The arrest of Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira in Punjab has put two major parties of INDIA alliance- AAP and Congress against each other. Khaira was arrested on Thursday by the APP government in Punjab and sent to a two-day police remand in connection with the 2015 drugs case.
Congress’ State chief Amarinder Warring has called the arrest “an attempt to intimidate the opposition” and “a ploy of the AAP government.”
Before arresting Sukhpal Singh Khaira, AAP has also been on an overdrive against former Congress leaders – targeting three former Congress Ministers and senior party leaders. Former Congress minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu was earlier arrested in a corruption case and now he is out on bail. Former Congress Deputy CM OP Saini was also arrested in a disproportionate assets case and former minister Sadhu Singh Dharamsot was also arrested by the AAP government.
CM Bhagwant Mann has also warned of action against Congress State Chief Amarinder Raja Singh Warring in a transport scam case.
The frosty relations between the two parties have also led to speculation about whether the two parties would agree on seat-sharing and overcome differences to fight in Punjab’s 13 Lok Sabha seats. The Congress state leadership has told party’s high command that there can be no alliance with AAP as it is targeting senior Congress leadership in the state.
West Bengal
In West Bengal, State Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary has been on a warpath against TMC chief and CM Mamata Banerjee questioning her on law and order as well as her recent foreign visit.
Chowdhury alleged that Mamata Banerjee’s recent trip abroad was nothing but a vacation, misusing the taxpayers’ money on the pretext of attracting investment to the state.
Adhir has reiterated that he is not a leader of the INDIA alliance but the leader of Congress in Lok Sabha fighting against TMC in West Bengal. The state unit of the Congress has asked the high command to not back Abhishek Banerjee who is being repeatedly summoned and questioned by the ED.
The Left has decided not to be part of the coordination committee where Abhishek Banerjee is a member. In the 42 seats of the state, a TMC-Congress-Left alliance looks unlikely with each party trying to safeguard its turf after the Congress and Left were wiped away in the last assembly elections.
Maharashtra
In Maharashtra, there were differences in the INDIA bloc after the Shiv Sena faction of Uddhav Thackeray denounced DMK’s Udhayanidhi Stalin’s ‘Sanatan Dharma’ remarks and asked the Congress to do the same.
“Not a single religion in the world is perfect, but it is also true that Hinduism took the reformist path and changed the wrong traditions. Our stand remains the same ‘Garva Se Kaho Hum Hindu Hain,’ and criticism by Udhayanidhi has hurt the 90 crores Hindus,” the party mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ said in its editorial.
Though the issue will not complicate the existing alliance in Maharashtra where the Shiv Sena, Congress and Sharad Pawar’s NCP faction are working together, but Thackeray cannot afford to be seen on the same platform as the DMK.
Karnataka
The ongoing legal and political battle between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka over the water sharing of the Cauvery River has also put a strain on the INDIA alliance as both governments are ruled either by Congress or its coalition ally.
BJP leaders and former Karnataka CM HD Kumaraswamy and Basavaraj Bommai have criticised the Congress government in the state for prioritising politics over the people’s welfare.
The BJP alleges that the Congress government is releasing Cauvery water to support their ally DMK in Tamil Nadu ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
If Karnataka releases water, the state government can face repercussions, especially at a time when there are ongoing bandhs being called in the state on the issue.
Bihar
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, a key constituent of INDIA alliance, has also given signs of returning to the NDA fold. Though Nitish has rubbished the rumours of his return to NDA, he had attended several major events called by the BJP in the state and the national level giving rise of speculations about his split with INDIA bloc.
Nitish not only participated in the G20 meeting called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi but also paid his tributes to Deen Dayal Upadhayay on his birth anniversary at Patna on September 25. The BJP in Bihar, which was vocally against Nitish, has also softened its stance against the Bihar government and some of the ministers.
As per reports, there has not been a consensus between the RJD and JD(U) over seat sharing for the Lok Sabha elections.
(With inputs from Aman Sharma)
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