Although the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, has been calling for opposition unity, the division within the India bloc has become quite evident in recent times, the latest being Rahul against Pinarayi Vijayan, the leader of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) and former Chief Minister of Kerala.
Past events that indicated rifts in the opposition alliance were the absence of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) from the India Caucus meeting in Delhi on June 8.
MK Stalin-led DMK cited Congress’s relationship with the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) as a reason for skipping the main meeting called to discuss “current political developments and issues facing the country and the public”.
Rahul’s criticism of the Trinamool Congress in the wake of the election debacle in contrast to Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav’s “unconditional support” for Mamata Banerjee’s party was another indication that all the alliance partners in the India bloc may not be on the same page on crucial issues.
Vijayan vs Rahul
A cold war of sorts broke out between Vijayan and Rahul after the former Kerala chief minister on Saturday criticized him and said his political approach does not strengthen the Indian alliance and often ends up helping the BJP.
Responding to a media question about Rahul’s statement at the India Caucus meeting where he allegedly said that he would not hug Vijayan due to their political rivalry in Kerala, the former chief minister said he is not worried about who is hugging whom.
“But we have all seen the picture of Rahul Gandhi hugging Narendra Modi. My objection is not to Modi hugging himself. Rather, his statements represent a certain political message. They reflect Rahul Gandhi’s approach and how he views India’s alliance,” the agency quoted Vijayan as saying.
On this, Congress general secretary KC Venugopal had a strong reaction as he alleged that the Left party was blaming the Congress leader for his political decline and electoral setbacks.
In a Facebook post, Venugopal said the Marxist party’s attacks on Gandhi reflected its “political insecurity” and its inability to objectively assess the reasons behind its recent defeats.
“Instead of analyzing the reasons for its poor electoral performance in Kerala, the CPI(M) is trying to target Rahul Gandhi. If it continues on this path, greater defeats await the party,” Venugopal wrote.
Rahul’s criticism of TMC, RJD and SP
In his speech at the India Caucus meeting on June 8, Rahul said there was “confusion” in the alliance as he criticized the TMC, Rally for Democracy and SP for using an outdated political strategy to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
“I am sorry to say that there is confusion in this group. The confusion is that you, the SP, the TMC and the RJD, believe that the political tools that you have used so far will remain effective. These tools worked only when the Indian state provided a fair field for them to operate in. That field does not exist anymore,” he said, arguing that the opposition must move from standard electoral politics to an aggressive “resistance movement” and mass mobilization.
He urged coalition partners to accept the theft of the election and stop treating it as a matter of doubt.
“I have many friends in the TMC. They were convinced that they were sweeping the elections in Bengal. I kept telling them, ‘You are in dreamland. I have seen what is happening. I have seen it in Gujarat. I have seen it in Madhya Pradesh. I have seen it in Chhattisgarh. I have seen it in Haryana and Maharashtra,'” he said.
