Shruti Suman
Speculation regarding the future of the India coalition escalated on Thursday when Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar attributed the lack of progress in preparing for the 2024 Lok Sabha election to the Congress. Mr. Kumar stated that the Congress, one of the group’s major members assigned the “leading role” according to the Bihar leader, is preoccupied with state elections. Party-ruled Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh are voting this month, along with Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, and Mizoram.
Speaking at a rally of the Communist Party of India in Patna, Nitish Kumar remarked with a smile, “We have been engaging with them and encouraging progress in the India alliance. However, there has been minimal progress on that front lately. The Congress seems to be more interested in the five state assembly elections.”
“We agreed to give the Congress the leading role, but it seems they will only schedule the next meeting after the state elections are concluded,” said the leader of the Janata Dal (United).
The last meeting of the India group took place on August 31-September 1 in Mumbai, after which it was announced that the Congress would determine the next meeting dates. There were discussions that it might be in Delhi, but no updates have been provided since. There were also rumors of it being in Madhya Pradesh, but that did not materialize either.
Nitish Kumar is widely regarded as one of the founding members of the India coalition. In fact, it was the Bihar Chief Minister who approached senior opposition leaders to explore the possibility of uniting to challenge the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, using his seniority as an intermediary between them and the Congress.
Mr. Kumar met with Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge and senior leader Rahul Gandhi in May, after which he traveled across the country, meeting with top leaders, including those like Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who had challenging relationships with the Congress but still joined the India coalition.
The first meeting of the India coalition was held in Patna in June, during which Mr. Kumar once again had to mediate. This was after the Aam Aadmi Party threatened to boycott the meeting because the Congress had not supported its campaign against the Delhi administrative services ordinance.
Nitish Kumar’s comment also follows a dispute between the Congress and the Samajwadi Party over seat-sharing for the Madhya Pradesh election. Akhilesh Yadav claimed that an agreement for his party to contest six seats was disregarded, stating, “If I had known, we wouldn’t have engaged with the Congress.”
