The Congress, its critics will argue, is a sore loser. The Congress’s reaction to the drubbing in Haryana — it has made a number of complaints to the Election Commission of India regarding the poll counting process in the state — has rendered the party vulnerable to such a charge. But what would worry the Congress more are the reactions of some of its allies in the INDIA grouping: it appears that the Congress’s friends, too, are a bit sore with the Grand Old Party. So much so that the Samajwadi Party, eager to settle scores with the Congress for its refusal to enter into an alliance with the SP in Haryana, has gone ahead and unilaterally announced the names of candidates in six of Uttar Pradesh’s 10 seats that will witness byelections. In Maharashtra, the Shiv Sena (UBT) has been critical of the Congress’s unwillingness to carry with it its alliance partners for the Haryana polls. The Aam Aadmi Party has made noises about the Congress’s arrogant style of functioning as well. Instead of pointing at alleged irregularities in the poll process, the Congress would perhaps do well to analyse its failure to stitch together poll pacts with not just allies but also independents, a failure that seems to have queered the pitch for the party in Haryana.

Admittedly, most of these jibes are being made for strategic reasons. The SP and the Shiv Sena (UBT) are keen on taking advantage of the Congress’s setback in Haryana to deny the party seats it has been eyeing for the forthcoming elections in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra. This goes to show that for all its talk of unity and a common purpose, INDIA, just like any other coalition comprising ambitious partners, is vulnerable to the competing, often conflicting, pressures of electoral politics. In fact, the baring of these fault lines before two other crucial political tests — the assembly elections in Jharkhand and Maharashtra — could also lend steam to the Bharatiya Janata Party’s accusation of INDIA being a coalition of convenience. That would put the Opposition at a disadvantage in the perception battle before the next round of crucial assembly elections.