Opposition Unity In Tatters: Find Which Parties Have Left INDIA Bloc, Which Parties Going Solo In LS Polls

The Samajwadi Party has become the latest party from the INDIA bloc to declare the candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Thus snubbing the Congress.

The announcement from the SP comes amid the offer of 17 Lok Sabha seats to the Congress. However, the Congress has been demanding for a higher allocation of seats. Ajay Rai, the Congress' Uttar Pradesh unit chief, had earlier said the party should get around two dozen seats that it had won in the 2009 general elections.

It may be recalled that the SP had announced candidates for 16 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh on January 30.

However, the SP is not the only party from the INDIA bloc which has seat-sharing issues with the Congress.

TMC Ditches Cong In Bengal
The TMC has decided to go solo in West Bengal over making "unreasonable demands" on seat-sharing without "acknowledging the ground reality". The TMC leaders had told PTI earlier that the party had offered two seats to the Congress, based on its 2019 performance, but it demanded 10-12 seats in which it got less than 3 per cent votes.

The Congress won two - Maldaha Dakshin and Baharampur - of the state's 42 Lok Sabha seats in 2019, recording an overall vote share of 5.97 per cent in West Bengal. In the 2021 assembly elections, it drew a blank with a vote share of 2.9 per cent.

Another flashpoint between the TMC and the Congress was the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat 'Jodo Nyay Yatra' as Mamata was not invited to a programme.

AAP-Cong Going Alone In Punjab
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress will not be in alliance in Punjab as both parties have 'mutually agreed' to contest separately in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

Punjab has 13 Lok Sabha seats. The Congress won eight Lok Sabha seats from the state in 2019, and three in 2014. Whereas the AAP had won four Lok Sabha seats in 2014, but reduced to one in 2019 - Sangrur won by Chief Minister Mann.

After Mann vacated it to become CM, Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) bagged it.

Will AAP-Cong Work Together In Delhi?
However, there are chances of the two parties joining hands in Delhi. "We are in talks with the Congress over an alliance in Delhi. We are discussing seat-sharing arrangements. The BJP will have it easy if there is no alliance," AAP Convener Arvind Kejriwal said on Sunday.

On the other hand, the AAP has asserted that it wants to contest six seats in Delhi in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and offered just one to the Congress.

The party asserted that the Congress, which is the senior INDIA bloc ally, does not even deserve even one seat considering its performance in the previous polls in the national capital.

Party's national general secretary (organisation) Sandeep Pathak recently said they have been waiting for more than a month for the seat-sharing talks to resume for Delhi but there has been no communication (from the Congress).

"Congress has zero seats in Lok Sabha and zero seats in the assembly. In the MCD elections last year, Congress won nine wards out of 250. If you see on merit basis and on statistics, Congress does not deserve one seat. But keeping in mind the alliance dharma, we offer them one seat," he added.

He said if talks do not happen, they will announce the names of six candidates for Delhi in the next few days.

The BJP had won all seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi in the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

NCP Announces Candidate Ramtek Constituency

The Ramtek constituency in Maharashtra has emerged as a focal point of contention in the Lok Sabha elections, with each political party vying for control despite the absence of seat-sharing agreements between the two alliances. Taking a bold stance, the 'NCP-Sharadchandra Pawar' has already declared Prakash Gajbhiye as its candidate. However, the other constituents of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), namely the Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT), assert that no conclusive decisions have been reached as of yet.

In Maharashtra, there are a total of 48 Lok Sabha seats up for grabs. Sanjay Raut, leader of the Shiv Sena (UBT faction), has stated that his party aims to contest 23 of these seats. On the other hand, the 'NCP-Sharadchandra Pawar' ( is expected to push for an allocation of 10-11 seats.

As per the reports, the Maharashtra Congress leaders want to contest in 22-23 Lok Sabha seats.

JDU, RLD Leave INDIA Bloc
The Opposition INDIA alliance has been hit by a double jolt after JDU and RLD's exit.

In January, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who had played a key role in forming the INDIA bloc, made his second political volte-face in less than three years as he rejoined the BJP-led NDA alliance. He ditched 'Mahagathbandhan' and formed a government with the support of the BJP.

Later, Nitish Kumar took a swipe at the INDIA bloc saying that the alliance of the non-BJP parties could not even take "one decision". "They did not do even one thing. Till today they haven't decided which party will contest how many seats. This is why I left them and came back to who I was with initially. I will keep working for the people of Bihar," he told the media after parting ways with the INDIA bloc.

Last week, Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Chaudhary Jayant Singh formally announced that his party will be joining the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). He said that this decision was taken in a short period of time and "wasn't a move that had been planned long ago".

Can the Party Overcome Challenges and Unite the Opposition?
Amidst a myriad of internal challenges within the INDIA bloc, the Congress finds itself at a critical juncture, necessitating a recalibration of its strategy. It is imperative for the party to diligently address any discord within its ranks and reconcile differences with alliance partners. Only through such concerted efforts can the Congress position itself to pose a formidable challenge to the BJP-led NDA in the forthcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections.