In defeat, the Congress on Sunday sought out the INDIA alliance after turning its back on several constituents who wanted a seat-sharing arrangement for the just concluded set of Assembly elections, widely regarded as the semi-final before the Lok Sabha polls.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge reached out to INDIA leaders on Sunday afternoon and called for a meeting on Tuesday even as some of the constituents questioned the ability of the Grand Old Party to take on the BJP and others staked claim to leading the front against the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections.

NCP leader Sharad Pawar said: “I do not think it (Congress’s performance) will
have any impact on the INDIA bloc. We will be meeting at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s residence in Delhi (on December 6). We will speak to those
who are aware of the ground reality. We will be able to comment on it only after the meeting.”

The Trinamul Congress fired the first salvo with Bengal general secretary Kunal Ghosh maintaining that his party should be leading the fight against the BJP. He posted on X in Bengali: “1) In the three states, this was more the Congress’s failure than the BJP’s success. 2) Even in other states, the schemes of @MamataOfficial are being copied by other parties. 3) This will have no bearing on the Lok Sabha elections. A united INDIA will have an impact. 4) @AITCofficial is the party to lead the fight of defeating the BJP in the nation.”

The deserted Congress headquarters in New Delhi on Sunday.  PTI picture

The Aam Aadmi Party was not far behind, driving home the point that it alone has two governments in north India, clearly finding another formulation to throw its hat in the ring as the Congress has three states with the win in Telangana and Trinamul one.

Senior AAP leader Jasmine Shah posted: “After today’s results, @AamAadmiParty emerges as the largest Opposition party in north India with 2 state governments — Punjab and Delhi.”

At the same time, AAP maintained that the results are not reflective of the mood of the nation, pointing out that the Congress won Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan in 2018 but the BJP won the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Spited by the Congress when it sought seats in Madhya Pradesh — the same treatment had been meted out to the Samajwadi Party as well — the JDU also took a swipe at the Congress. Party spokesman K.C. Tyagi told NDTV: “Now it is clear the Congress cannot put up a good fight against the BJP.” Questioning the rationale behind calling a meeting of the INDIA alliance now, Tyagi was particular in pointing out that these results should not be linked to the grouping. “The INDIA alliance was not in the race anywhere.”

RJD parliamentarian Manoj Jha said: “Leaders like our national president Lalu Prasad and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar have acknowledged that among all partners in the INDIA coalition, the Congress has the largest footprint. But now, the ball is in the Congress’s court. It ought to realise that Narendra Modi’s conceit cannot be fought with conceit.

“I am sure the Congress will realise that the self-centred politics of the BJP can be beaten only through collectivism. In the days to come, much better coordination within INDIA may be there for all to see.”

Sanjay Raut of the Shiv Sena (UBT) said the outcome of the Madhya Pradesh polls would have been different had the Congress shared some seats with other constituents of the INDIA bloc.

The Congress should revisit its outlook towards allies. He recalled that it was Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Kamal Nath who had opposed sharing seats with the Samajwadi Party. Raut, however, asserted that Sunday’s election results would not cause any rift among the INDIA constituents.

The disappointment over the results and frustration with the Congress was evident across the alliance. In Udhampur, National Conference leader Omar Abdullah wondered about the future of the entire Opposition if this is the way the INDIA alliance functions. “The Congress did not read the ground situation in Madhya Pradesh. What would they have lost if they had given a few seats to Akhilesh Yadav? They have lost anyway.”

One school of thought claims that the Congress lost OBC votes because it slighted the SP and the JDU.

CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury said: “These election results underline the need for the secular forces to redouble their efforts in defence of people’s livelihood and the secular democratic character of the Indian republic.”

G. Devarajan of the All India Forward Bloc was of the view that the decision to practically deactivate the INDIA alliance during the elections had backfired.

The INDIA grouping has not met since its Mumbai meeting on August 31-September 1. A proposal to have a joint rally in Bhopal that would provide some ballast to the Congress campaign in Madhya Pradesh was shot down by party CM-hopeful Kamal Nath, following which the whole endeavour to pool forces and resources against the BJP appeared to lose steam.

Now that the Congress has had a reality check, the hope within the INDIA alliance is that the party will get off its high horse and behave as one among equals instead of
the perpetual first among equals.

DMK leader M.K. Stalin said: “Congratulations to the winning parties in the state legislative elections of Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan! Wishing them a term filled with positive change, progress, and prosperity for people from all sections.”