The I.N.D.I.A bloc's reunion: Can the disparate parties remain united

The Indian National Congress snapped its ties with the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam-led Socialist Progressive Alliance in Tamil Nadu and crossed over to be part of the government led by Chief Minister C Vijay Joseph and his nascent Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, setting off fissures within the Indian National Democratic Inclusive Alliance after the recent assembly elections.

The fault lines in the multi-party coalition that came together ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha election became more pronounced after the DMK decided to step away from the grand platform built on one strong pillar — anti-BJP sentiment. Upset over the inelegant manner in which the Congress dumped the DMK, its leader and former Chief Minister M K Stalin characterised the move as betrayal. Demonstrating that DMK was drawing a distance from the Congress, party leader in the Lok Sabha, Kanimozhi, requested the Speaker to allot seats for 22 party MPs away from the GoP.

The DMK is the third-largest party occupying the opposition benches in the Lok Sabha after the Samajwadi Party (37 MPs) and the Trinamool Congress (28 MPs). Besides the Congress, these three parties are the only ones to have members in double digits.

With the DMK tearing away, the I.N.D.I. Alliance's strength is down to 210 from 232 MPs. Further attrition in the opposition bench strength cannot be ruled out, considering the revolt brewing in the Trinamool Congress. The impact of this churn should have a bearing when the Monsoon session of Parliament is held.

This opposition collective was the one which stalled the move by the BJP-led NDA Government to amend the Constitution to advance the implementation of the Women’s Reservation and push the delimitation exercise.

It is in this backdrop that questions are being raised over the fate of the alliance. Only a political soothsayer can declare with certainty how this loose coalition will go from here. The June 8 meeting attended by representatives of over 20 parties was to demonstrate that the basic adhesive remains strong and came out with three demands — resignation of the Human Resource Minister over paper leaks; a letter to the Chief Justice of India over SIR and voter list anomalies; and, an all-party meeting on economic situation.

Besides these, there was an agreement to hold coordination meetings at regular intervals. The declaration of sustained interaction reminds of the mid 1950s song; “Que será, será, Whatever will be, will be; The future's not ours to see. Que será, será, What will be, will be”.

While it is easy to decipher the intra-alliance woes, the discerning would realise there have been signals emanating from the opposition camp that this alliance never acted as one coalition. Parties with different priorities preferred to walk separately and were not seen standing on the path suggested by the Congress. There have been several points of divergence in approach and tactics in Parliament since the heady summer of 2024, when the Opposition found new strength and its voice.

One, there remains a reluctance to accept the Congress party (read Rahul Gandhi) as the leader of the coalition. Two, parties like the Trinamool Congress and Aam Aadmi Party, in particular, preferred to remain separate on issues raised by the Congress. Three, the SP, which remains a prominent voice in Uttar Pradesh, did not feel obliged to be seen with the Congress, especially in its tactics of stalling the proceedings. Four, the DMK remained a steadfast supporter, but that was also dictated by the local factor — its political opponent, AIADMK, sailed with the BJP. Five, during state elections, the Congress did not succumb to pressure to accommodate allies like the AAP in Haryana. Six, the loss of Congress in Haryana dented its image as a force to take on the BJP in a direct contest. The October 2024 state assembly results put the BJP back in business.

Kerala and West Bengal became classic models of alignments going awry. In both states, the Congress-led United Democratic Front was the principal challenger to the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (in the South), while in the East, Congress and the Left were competing for positions three and four.

The irony of such an electoral opponent’s willingness to join hands elsewhere was aptly summed up by the late Priyaranjan Dasmunshi of the Congress. It was during the formation of the United Progressive Alliance government in 2004 when asked to explain how the Left and Congress, which contested against one another in Kerala and West Bengal, could work together, he quipped: “Just like football, when we play in Kolkata we wear the East Bengal, Mohun Bagan or Mohammed Sporting jersey but when we play for India, we become one team”.

If anti-Congress was the glue that brought disparate parties together in the 1970s onwards, now the adhesive is anti-BJP. However, in states like Maharashtra, it has lost the ability to stick. The BJP was successful in loosening this ideological grip of the Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party, and similar attempts are said to be underway in Tamil Nadu.

The next session of Parliament will show how these fault lines are developing. Will the DMK and a possible breakaway faction of the TMC now walk with the BJP-led government that could push a legislative agenda like the “One Nation-One Poll requiring an amendment to the Constitution?

After the debacle over the Women’s Reservation and the Delimitation move, the BJP will move in when it has the required two-thirds majority in either House; that could be doable in the next few weeks.

—The author, K V Prasad, is a political observer and writer. The views expressed are personal.Continue Reading(Edited by : Unnikrishnan)First Published: Jun 10, 2026 11:22 AM IST