Allies in Delhi, rivals in states: Why Congress should quit INDIA bloc, fight regional parties

NEW DELHI: The just-concluded Rajya Sabha election has done more than reshuffle numbers in the Upper House – it has once again exposed the widening divide within the opposition’s INDIA (Indian National Development Inclusive Alliance) bloc. What was stitched together as a united opposition front, led by Congress, against the BJP ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls now appears increasingly frayed, with allies turning their fire inward. And at the heart of this heat is the Congress itself. Consider this: some of the sharpest attacks on the Congress in recent days have come not from its political rivals, but from its own partners. From accusations of “betrayal” by the Samajwadi Party to the CPM dubbing it a “B-team of the Sangh Parivar”, and the CPI(ML) flagging its vulnerability to “horse-trading”, the rhetoric has been unusually blunt.

Here are some of the remarks:

All these remarks are from leaders who are allies of the Congress in the INDIA bloc. The immediate provocation for this no-holds-barred attack was cross-voting by some Congress MLAs in Bihar, Haryana and Odisha in the Rajya Sabha elections. It’s a different matter that it was not just the Congress MLAs who cross-voted but legislators of some other regional parties also broke ranks to help the BJP.The Congress has already initiated action against MLAs who went against the party line and has accused the BJP of indulging in horse-trading to win elections. In fact, in Haryana they have also lodged an official complaint with the state governor. What comes out of this complaint is something that we will have to wait and see.However, the recent episode has laid bare a larger problem that the INDIA bloc coalition is struggling to stay united beyond its anti-BJP agenda. The bloc was formed in the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections with the primary aim of preventing division of anti-BJP votes to slow down the saffron march. To that extent the alliance did reasonably well – restricting the BJP to 244 and preventing it from another majority victory. The Congress gained the most in the process, nearly doubling its numbers to 99 in the Lower House. But two years after the setup of INDIA bloc, the fact remains that the relationship between the Congress and its regional allies has mostly been tumultuous.After a surprise success of Lok Sabha elections, the compulsions of state politics took centre stage. The fact that most of the regional parties who had joined hands with the Congress in Delhi, were political rivals in their states made the relationship not just complex but also acrimonious.While the Congress wanted to regain its lost base in the states, the regional parties, many of whom had grown at the expense of the Congress, did not want to cede too much ground to the grand-old-party. That perhaps explains why the existence of the INDIA bloc has been questioned every time there have been state elections.

Post-2024 Lok Sabha script

Here’s a look at the INDIA bloc dynamics at state-level: Maharashtra: Internal tussles of MVAThe Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA, comprising Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (Sharad Pawar), has struggled with coordination after the 2024 Lok Sabha success.In the assembly elections held later in November 2024, the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance secured a landslide victory by winning 235 of 288 seats. The MVA managed to get only 50 seats. Post-results, internal friction peaked with partners blaming each other for poor seat-conversion. Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena and the Congress have often clashed over who should be the “face” of the alliance in the state moving forward.In the recently held BMC and other civic polls in Maharashtra, Congress had contested on its own while the other two parties fought together for some of the seats.Delhi: AAP vs CongressAfter a tactical seat-sharing deal for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, which yielded zero seats for the alliance in Delhi, both AAP and Congress reverted to being bitter rivals. In June, 2024, AAP’s Delhi convenor Gopal Rai had announced that the alliance was “only for the General Election.” In 2025 Delhi assembly elections, the alliance completely collapsed as both parties contested independently. The relationship deteriorated further in the election campaign phase where both parties accused each other of being BJP’s proxy.In one of the rallies, Kejriwal had said: “The problem with the Congress is their sense of entitlement. They think they have a divine right to lead the opposition just because of their past, even when they have zero presence on the ground. They are not fighting the BJP; they are fighting the regional parties who actually defeat the BJP. In Delhi, the Congress is nothing but a ‘vote-cutter’ meant to help the BJP.”Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra held rallies across Delhi, terming Kejriwal and other AAP leaders “corrupt” amid liquor policy case. In one such rally, Rahul Gandhi had said: “Kejriwal ji keeps lying. The way PM Modi lies, Kejriwal lies too. There isn’t much difference between them. But I will tell you one thing—Kejriwal is probably more cunning and sophisticated than even the Prime Minister in how he misleads people.” Senior Congress leader Ajay Maken’s sharp critiques of Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP to even suggest that Congress be “expelled” from the national bloc. The two parties eventually reached the point of no return after BJP’s sweep in the state, with both parties blaming each other for the split in votes.While BJP got 48 of 70 seats, AAP lost the power and was reduced to 22 seats while Congress drew a blank for the third straight time. AAP chief Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia (both of whom lost their individual seats) also blamed the Congress for “acting as a spoiler” and cutting into the AAP’s core secular vote bank.By July, AAP officially exited the INDIA bloc. Party MP Sanjay Singh said, “We said that officially, the Aam Aadmi Party is not with the INDIA alliance as of today. Our alliance was for the Lok Sabha elections.”Kejriwal asserted that the Congress’s “entitled leadership” was the primary reason the opposition could not mount a challenge to the BJP.West Bengal: TMC vs Congress vs LeftThis is currently the most volatile relationship in the bloc. While Mamata Banerjee is a founding member of the INDIA bloc, the “on-ground” reality in Bengal remains a three-way battle. Mamata, who has till now managed to successfully keep BJP out of power in Bengal, refused to cede even a percentile of its voter base to Congress, or Left for that matter. Immediately after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, where the TMC won 29 out of 42 seats, Mamata Banerjee concluded that the Congress was a “liability” in Bengal. In February 2025, Mamata formally told her party legislators that the TMC would contest the 2026 assembly polls alone. Her rationale was blunt: “The Congress has no base in Bengal; we cannot strengthen them at our own cost.”In the upcoming elections, all three parties – TMC, Congress and CPM are going solo while fighting against BJP. Tamil Nadu: Deal or compromise?In Tamil Nadu, the DMK-Congress alliance has held, but only after intense last-minute bargaining exposed underlying tensions. On March 4, 2026, the two parties finalised their pact for the April 23 assembly elections following days of uncertainty.The Congress, which had pushed for 40 seats and a power-sharing formula including cabinet berths, had to settle for a modest expansion — from 25 seats in 2021 to 28 in 2026, along with one Rajya Sabha seat. Meanwhile, MK Stalin remained firm against any power sharing arrangement. For now the two parties have managed to come together for state polls, but it would be interesting to see if it holds for long. Kerala: Congress vs CPMIn the upcoming Kerala assembly elections, the two major INDIA bloc constituents are the primary adversaries in a direct face-off. The United Democratic Front (UDF) is being led by Congress and the Left Democratic Front (LDF) is led by CPM.As the state moves toward the 2026 assembly elections, the rhetoric has turned hostile. Congress (UDF) is campaigning against 10 years of “anti-incumbency” and corruption under the LDF, while the Left has accused Congress of having a “secret understanding” with the BJP to weaken them.The other factor that has contributed to this acrimony is the leadership question – with the prominent regional leaders of the bloc reluctant to accept Congress (read Rahul Gandhi) as their leader. When the bloc was formed, JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar, who was one of the key architects of this experiment against the BJP, had hoped to lead it. But the Congress, which despite its decline, was the largest party in the bloc, had other plans. The Congress took over the leadership of INDIA bloc and party chief Mallikarjun Kharge became the leader of the opposition alliance. In the last two years, there have been several occasions when regional parties have questioned the leadership of the Congress. Some of them have even accused the grand-old-party of using the opposition alliance as per its convenience. Their calls for regular meetings, common agenda, shared manifesto have been ignored by the Congress. Last month, the Congress faced embarrassment when one of its own leaders made a strong case for a change in the INDIA bloc’s leadership and urged Rahul Gandhi to step aside. Mani Shankar Aiyar, who many thought had faded into political oblivion, was back with a bang. Aiyar, who has an uncanny knack of courting controversies, openly asked Rahul Gandhi to step aside and let regional leaders lead the opposition alliance.So, Aiyar first pitched Mamata Banerjee and said “West Bengal chief minister is central to the survival of INDIA bloc”. Then he backed the DMK chief and claimed “MK Stalin is best-suited to be the convenor of INDIA bloc”. The former Union minister also batted for Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav for the leadership role.While leaders of some regional parties welcomed Aiyar’s advice, some rejected the remarks as his “personal opinion” and asserted any decision on leadership will be taken by the members of the alliance.Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah, whose party National Conference is part of INDIA bloc, dismissed Aiyar’s efforts and asserted any decision on leadership will be taken by the members of the alliance.“To date, there has been no discussion regarding leadership in any meeting of the INDIA bloc. But ultimately, when a decision is made, it will be by the INDIA bloc. Everyone will talk together. No such meeting has taken place so far to discuss the leadership. So, I don’t know where this is being projected,” Abdullah then said when asked about Aiyar’s suggestions.The Congress dismissed Mani Shankar Aiyar as a leader whose time was over. “Mani Shankar Aiyar and others like him are people whose time is over. They have no role in this party. They are not part of this party. His position is that of someone who goes wherever he is hired. Whoever hires him, he goes there. That is nothing to be particularly respected,” Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala said dismissing Aiyar’s remarks.But while the Congress may have dumped Aiyar, his pitch for regional leadership of the INDIA bloc put the grand-old-party in a tight spot once again.

Why Congress should withdraw itself from INDIA bloc

The experience of the past two years suggests that the INDIA bloc’s biggest challenge lies not in confronting the BJP, but in reconciling its internal contradictions. For the Congress, which remains the largest party in the alliance, the dilemma is particularly acute: balancing its national leadership role with the reality of state-level competition from its own partners.Given the acrimony and differences that have characterised the existence of INDIA bloc since its inception, breaking out of this cycle may require a bold call. The Congress should perhaps consider opting out of the opposition alliance for now. A temporary exit from the alliance could allow the Congress to rebuild without constantly negotiating its space with regional players.The grand-old party could forge individual alliances in states with regional parties on its own terms. The next Lok Sabha elections are still three years away which leaves enough time for realignment, but for now, the party’s priority may well be to strengthen itself independently before returning to any grand coalition.