INDIA Bloc Has To Rejuvenate Itself With New Leadership In 2025 To Meet BJP Challenge

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By Nitya Chakraborty

The New Year 2025 has started in the backdrop of the restoration of the ruling party BJP's confidence following its electoral successes in the state assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana and completely overshadowing the Samajwadi Party in the assembly by polls in Uttar Pradesh. The Party leadership of the BJP and the Prime Minister Narendra Modi have shown their capacity of turnaround in a short period of six months following their drubbing in the Lok Sabha elections, the results of which were announced on June 4, 2024.

The assembly poll results in Maharashtra showed the way the voters behaved in the state giving a thumping victory to the Mahayuti led by BJP in November 20 elections disregarding their own mandate in Lok Sabha elections six months ago. The results indicated the organisational efficiency of the NDA partners, especially in the BJP, the total involvement of RSS in the campaign for its chosen candidates and the financial power of the saffrons. The BJP leadership showed how it has the capacity to make a political turnaround through immediate course correction.

In elections, wins and losses are normal. Every combination has to take proper lessons from the earlier reverses, identify the factors for defeat and then work out the remedial measures. The BJP took up the issue of course correction seriously after its dismal performance in 2024 Lok Sabha elections when its strength came down to 240 from the 2019 figure of 303. The uncertainty created after the formation of the third NDA government under Narendra Modi with minority BJP taking help from the others like JD(U) and the TDP, is gone now. Prime Minister has shown to his government allies that the BJP is in control and things should politically improve in the coming period.

While the BJP is alert and agile about defeating the INDIA block with its continuous updating of the political and electoral strategy, there is a sort of slumber in the INDIA bloc parties. The leadership is inactive. There has been no full-fledged meeting of the INDIA bloc leaders since the Lok Sabha elections. It is true that the assembly elections are dealt by the state level leaders, but there is need for a central approach and a coherent strategy. The Congress is now the non-active driver of the INDIA bloc. The Party is the main opposition party in Lok Sabha with 99 seats. It has every right to be the leader of the opposition. But it should be proactive and act for unifying the anti-BJP parties and forces. The Congress is certainly failing on this front.

The Lok Sabha elections 2024 and the following state assembly elections in Haryana, Maharashtra and Jharkhand have shown that the Indian voters are quite volatile in their electoral behaviour and the mood changes very fast. New factors emerge neutralizing the advantages gained in earlier elections. This proves the maturity of the Indian electorate. The task is tougher for the political strategists of the two competing alliances to assess correctly the evolving political mood in such changing environment.

For the INDIA Bloc, there has been some setback in the elections outcome in the last six months after the Lok Sabha polls, but there are some bright spots also. INDIA Bloc has to take proper lessons from the reverses and start the process of correction so that the NDA, especially the BJP can be contained in the states ruled by NDA where the assembly elections will be held in the next two years. Two lessons are there, in Maharashtra, the last minute implementation of the women-centred schemes had a big impact on women voters in the poll leading to Mahayuti's massive victory. And the second is that the tribals stuck to the INDIA bloc in Jharkhand defying all the anti-Hemant campaigns by the BJP.

INDIA Bloc has to move fast in 2025 under a new leadership. It can be a solo leadership or a dual one. The best political leader to be the convener of the INDIA Bloc is the West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. There can be joint conveners also. Then Tamil Nadu chief minister M. K. Staling can be the second one.. Mamata has established herself as an aggressive political leader who can fight BJP. Only in West Bengal, in the assembly by elections held in ten constituencies held after Lok Sabha polls, Trinamool Congress swept all ten beating the BJP in its two sitting seats. Mamata is politically comfortable in 2025. She can give enough time for the INDIA Bloc coordination and advancement of its programmes.

Similarly M K Stalin is a perfect person for playing a leading role in INDIA Bloc. He has been running a model coalition government of INDIA Bloc parties in Tamil Nadu. He will be facing assembly elections only in 2026 like Mamata. He is politically comfortable, friendly with the other non aligned parties like YSRCP and BJD. His acceptability among the INDIA Bloc parties is beyond question. Both Mamata and Stalin are best suited now to infuse a new life into the operations of the INDIA Bloc.

In 2025, the first election will be held in February to elect the Delhi assembly. This will be followed by the elections to the Bihar assembly at the end of the year. As regards Delhi, indications are that the AAP and the Congress will be contesting separately. AAP thinks whatever be the results in the last Lok Sabha election, the party will be comfortable in fighting alone in the coming polls to defeat BJP.

If the two INDIA partners stick to their respective rigid stand, there is going to be a three-cornered contest to the advantage of the BJP. AAP should keep it in mind that Delhi is not Kerala. BJP has a very strong base and this time, it is advantageously placed to meet the AAP challenge. INDIA Bloc's senior leaders should make all efforts to ensure that an understanding is reached just like 2024 Lok Sabha elections. If this does not take place, the outcome can go either way.

As regards Bihar, the main responsibility on behalf of the INDIA Bloc is with RJD. In last assembly elections, the INDIA Bloc lost narrowly but the Lok Sabha elections revealed some big gaps in INDIA Bloc's campaigning. These have to be taken care of now and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav has to operate as a leader of the entire INDIA Bloc looking with the objective of defeating the NDA, irrespective of the party. The Congress has to bargain for seats in keeping with its strength. Its strike rate in the last elections was the lowest.

The assembly elections and bypolls have thrown up both new and old faces in the INDIA Bloc parties who can act as drivers of change for the Bloc to intensify the tempo of struggle against the BJP. Priyanka Gandhi who has entered the Lok Sabha in the latest bypoll in Wayanad constituency of Kerala can be a big asset to the INDIA Bloc in the upcoming fight against the BJP in the assembly elections. Priyanka has been projecting the right issues all through. She has been consistently advocating the women's issues including the cash transfer for long. She can be one of the principal leaders of the INDIA Bloc at central level as the BJP has given a big focus on women's issues and this has to be combated properly by the INDIA bloc.

There are two other leaders who have proved their worth in the last round of elections and the political campaign. They are Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren and CPI(ML)-Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya. Hemant has shown his political acumen by defeating the BJP in the tribal belt of Jharkhand in assembly elections. It was a massive task since the BJP and RSS launched a big offensive to take control of tribal seats. He has emerged as a supreme leader of tribals in the country.

Similarly, Dipankar has proved his worth by organising big victories of CPI(ML)-L in Lok Sabha elections from Bihar and later in assembly by polls. His leadership has helped INDIA Bloc in both Bihar and Jharkhand in meeting the BJP challenge. This CPI(ML)-L leader can be used effectively by the INDIA Bloc nationally to take on the BJP.

It is high time the INDIA Bloc parties convene a meeting and decide on the new line of leadership. Rahul Gandhi remains the LoP and he has ever claim for becoming the PM face of the opposition But Lok Sabha elections are in 2029. In the interim period there are many state assembly elections which will have to be fought. INDIA Bloc must have a coherent strategy for that. The battle against the BJP has to be fought on all fronts both in Parliament and outside. INDIA Bloc has to work out joint action programmes including the fight to protect the Constitution. A rejuvenated INDIA Bloc leadership can only take up that challenge. (IPA Service )

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