CRACKS have already begun surfacing in the I.N.D.I.A. grouping, giving an impression that by the time the country goes to the Lok Sabha elections, the alliance will remain only a formality. The biggest and the latest trigger to this impression came when the people in West Bengal saw literally thousands of posters depicting Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Ms. Mamata Banerjee as Prime Minister who would hoist the national flag in New Delhi. Let alone that, the I.N.D.I.A. has been facing the traditional Opposition problem about deciding upon the prime ministerial face. With many claimants available in the grouping, the leadership issue is going to weaken further the alliance that has no point on its agenda other than ousting Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi. Now that the Mamata Banerjee posters are out in West Bengal, the leadership issue has been pushed into a crisis mode. Another issue that dogged the I.N.D.I.A. unity emerged in Delhi with clear differences between the Congress party and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) over many points. It has almost become obvious that the AAP may not want to be part of the grouping since it appears headed to work at cross purposes more particularly on account of the goals set for itself by the Congress party.

 

The crisis actually got aggravated all the more with the ridiculous and pathetic performance of Congress leader Mr. Rahul Gandhi during the Motion of No-Confidence in Parliament just a few days ago. Those three days of debate on the Motion made the different constituents of the I.N.D.I.A. grouping realise that the whole effort may run into blocks and hurdles if Mr. Rahul Gandhi were to lead the alliance officially. Having seen his immature conduct over time, the leaders of most Opposition parties have come to a conclusion that Mr. Rahul Gandhi cannot be expected to be an effective leader of the grand alliance of twenty-six different constituents. (And, Mr. Rahul Gandhi may never happen to know this reality, living as he does in his own paradise!). Down South, the grouping has problems in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, to say the least. Leaders of the regional parties in Southern States also harbour prime ministerial ambitions and think of themselves to be nothing less than anybody else. With every leader aspiring to be the prime ministerial face, I.N.D.I.A. has already run into a serious road-block.

 

If leadership is one problem in I.N.D.I.A., then the other issue is philosophical content of its narrative. The grouping lacks any substantive thought-process about how the country should be managed and in which direction it must travel. When Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi talks of ‘Amrit Kaal’ and thinks of the impact his actions are going to have on the next 1000 years of India’s path into future, the Opposition appears to go crazy in confusion. For, none of its leaders has the capacity to comprehend what the Prime Minister is talking about. After all, does one really think of 1000 years?! -- the I.N.D.I.A. leaders wonder and argue among themselves and with the people in general. On that issue, there are serious differences of opinion among the leaders of all constituents. All these dimensions are leading to a clear impression that the I.N.D.I.A. is not a truly unified grouping. In sharp contrast, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is a fully integrated grouping that has survived test of time over the past thirty years. Its identity and signature are clearly drawn and being highlighted by all constituents led so capably by the Prime Minister himself. On the other side of the divide, however, what is most visible is a web of cracks.