Disunited Unity

Though there is a strong undercurrent of anti-incumbency against the BJP, the big question in Indian politics today is no longer whether the opposition needs to unite against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)but whether such a united front can actually work? When opposition parties formed the INDIA bloc in 2023, there was great hope. But by the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, cracks were already showing. By 2025–26, the alliance had effectively broken apart. Parties like the DMK and Trinamool Congress pulled away from Congress and ran their own separate campaigns. Recent state elections show this problem clearly. In Kerala, the Congress-led alliance defeated the Left Front-proving that national allies can be bitter enemies at the state level. In Tamil Nadu, the DMK-Congress alliance lost ground to the rising Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, which later joined hands with former DMK partners after the election. In West Bengal, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) refused to share seats with Congress to protect its own power. This pattern reveals a deeper problem: regional parties care first and foremost about their own states. This helps them stay in power locally, but it hurts their chances nationally. Opposition parties lack coordination, clear discipline, and an ability to agree on unified leadership for national battles. By putting regional pride above collective strategy, local leaders make the BJP’s job easier. Past failures came mainly from fights over who gets which constituency-especially between Congress and regional parties. Uttar Pradesh will likely show this division again soon. The BJP remains strong, and the Samajwadi Party (SP) is its main challenger. The SP has little reason to give ground to a weakened Congress, preferring local control over national symbolism. In 2017, SP and Congress formed a pre-poll alliance: SP took 298 seats, Congress took 105. But Congress won only 7 seats-far too few to help SP reach the majority mark. That poor performance by Congress ultimately deprived SP of power. To face the BJP, the INDIA bloc needs stronger local networks, cross-state campaign coordination, and protection for workers facing intimidation-especially in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. Though Rahul towers above the others for leadership, yet many opposition leaders feel uncomfortable backing him as the alliance’s face. Mamata Banerjee has strong regional support, but her recent Bengal defeat weakens her claim. Akhilesh Yadav, Arvind Kejriwal, and Priyanka Gandhi are influential but lack pan-India reach. However, Rahul remains the most visible rather than viable national face-largely because Congress is the largest opposition party and he is Leader of the Opposition. Rahul’s repeated attacks on Modi and corporate power have reached diminishing returns. He must also introspect whether his personal vision can become a national one. To offer a viable national alternative, the bloc must either accept collective leadership or pick a credible prime ministerial candidate to counter Modi’s personal appeal. Congress itself is organizationally weak, divided internally, and dependent on a small circle around the Gandhi family. Experienced leaders are often pushed aside, while younger politicians leave the party. A structure run by loyalists cannot manage a complex coalition. The BJP’s biggest advantage is simply the opposition’s inability to overcome its own fears and rivalries. In short, the INDIA bloc’s success depends less on grand declarations and more on practical coordination, disciplined seat-sharing, a unified message, and leadership that all parties can accept. Without these, unity remains an idea-not a reality.