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The Fallacy of India Alliance: A Crumbling Antimodi Coalition

by Kapil Gupta

February 20, 2024 0

In the chaotic dance of Indian politics, alliances form and dissolve with alarming frequency, leaving voters bewildered and leaders scrambling for relevance. The latest casualty in this political theatre is the India alliance, a ragtag assembly of opposition parties united by little more than their shared disdain for one man: Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Let’s call a spade a spade: the India alliance was doomed from the start. Its fatal flaw? A lack of cohesive vision and purpose beyond being simply an antimodi alliance. While the opposition parties banded together under the guise of challenging Modi’s dominance, their unity was skin-deep, a mere façade masking deep-seated divisions and conflicting agendas.

At its core, the India alliance was a misnomer. It should have been labeled the AMA alliance—short for antimodi alliance—because, let’s face it, Modi was the only adhesive holding this motley crew together. Beyond their shared opposition to the incumbent prime minister, the alliance lacked any meaningful common ground or shared vision for the future of India.

Instead of presenting a united front against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the India alliance devolved into a cacophony of competing egos and interests. The recent departures of key leaders like Nitish Kumar and Mamata Banerjee underscore the inherent fragility of this makeshift coalition. When push came to shove, these regional heavyweights chose self-preservation over the illusion of unity.

But can we really blame them? In a political landscape defined by cutthroat competition and Machiavellian maneuvering, survival instincts trump lofty ideals. The India alliance was a house of cards waiting to collapse, built on shaky foundations of opportunism and expediency.

What the opposition parties failed to grasp was that mere opposition to Modi is not a coherent political platform. It’s easy to rally against a common enemy, but far more challenging to articulate a compelling alternative vision for the country. By fixating on their shared antipathy towards Modi, the India alliance neglected the hard work of coalition-building and policy formulation.

In the end, the demise of the India alliance should serve as a cautionary tale for India’s fractured opposition. True political change requires more than just opposition for opposition’s sake; it demands a clear-eyed vision, principled leadership, and a willingness to bridge ideological divides in pursuit of the common good.

So, let the India alliance be consigned to the annals of political history as yet another failed experiment in coalition politics. But let us also heed the lessons it imparts: that unity born of convenience is fleeting, and that true change can only come from a shared commitment to building, rather than tearing down. In the words of Mahatma Gandhi, “Be the change you wish to see in the world”—a sentiment that rings truer now than ever before in India’s tumultuous political landscape.