New Delhi, December 4, 2023: Cracks within the Opposition's INDIA bloc surfaced on Sunday, with several parties pointing fingers at the Congress for its 3-0 defeat against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Hindi heartland states of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan. Allies such as the Samajwadi Party, Janata Dal (United), and Trinamool Congress launched scathing attacks on the Mallikarjun Kharge-led party, accusing it of neglecting its INDIA partners.
Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United) took a swipe at the Congress, emphasizing that the party's inability to secure victories alone was evident. KC Tyagi, a leader of JDU, asserted that the BJP's success was more a consequence of the Congress's defeat. He criticized the Congress for not involving its INDIA allies in consultations and stressed the need to strengthen the INDIA bloc. Tyagi remarked, "An alliance meeting a couple of months earlier would have been beneficial."
Omar Abdullah, leader of the National Conference, expressed skepticism about the INDIA alliance's prospects in the 2024 general elections given the current situation. He highlighted the failure to retain Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh and questioned the delayed convening of the INDIA alliance meeting by the Congress.
Abdullah also criticized the Congress for not allocating seats to the Samajwadi Party in the Madhya Pradesh assembly elections, questioning the party's understanding of the ground situation.
The Trinamool Congress attributed the defeat to Congress and argued that the BJP's success in the three states was more a result of Congress's failure.
RJD national spokesperson Manoj Jha acknowledged the Congress's significant role in the INDIA coalition but urged the party to recognize the importance of collective efforts against BJP's self-centered politics. Jha expressed optimism about improved coordination within INDIA in the future.
The Samajwadi Party, engaged in a pre-election dispute with the Congress, blamed Kamal Nath's "indecent" statements against Akhilesh Yadav for their defeat, calling it a betrayal.
In the election results, the BJP secured 54 seats in Chhattisgarh, 163 seats in Madhya Pradesh, and 115 seats in Rajasthan, while the Congress won 35, 66, and 69 seats, respectively. The Congress emerged victorious in Telangana with 64 seats, while the BJP won 8 seats, and the AIMIM secured 7 seats.
