The recently concluded Winter Session of Parliament further exposed the cracks in the Opposition unity with several alliance partners questioning the Congress’s ability to lead the coalition. As the fulcrum of the alliance, the Congress faced criticism from several leaders of the Opposition INDIA bloc as they accused the grand old party of being ‘arrogant, overconfident and entitled’. The constituents had attributed the party’s poor show to the ‘overconfidence and arrogance’ of the state leadership.The unease among the allies is palpable with several parties including Samajwadi party (SP), Shiv Sena (UBT), and RJD supporting Mamata Banerjee as the face of the alliance.Though the beginning of the winter session saw parties such as SP, TMC and AAP distancing themselves from the Congress over raising the Adani issue in parliament, the row over Home Minister Amit Shah’s remarks over Ambedkar led to the regrouping of the parties.The challenge for the parties will be the impending assembly elections in Delhi and Bihar, where the alliances will be put to the test. If the Congress fails to perform in these polls, the chorus for the grand old party to step down from the leadership role will only grow.
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