India’s ‘new alliance’ take on Modi in 2024 vote

BLOOMBERG

India’s main opposition Congress party said it will forge alliances with some regional groups to challenge Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government in next year’s general elections.
Congress had formed coalition governments from 2004 to 2014 with “friendly allies” and will forge alliances with like-minded political groups for the 2024 polls, party President Mallikarjun Kharge said. Congress’ top leadership are meeting in the central state of Chhattisgarh to formulate its electoral strategy for next year.
It’s not immediately clear which parties will agree to enter such partnerships — many regional parties have strong aspirations of their own — and disagreements over who will helm such a grouping are likely to arise. In the past, the Congress has demanded the upper hand in such alliances.
Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party has enjoyed high levels of popularity since he swept to power in 2014. An India Today-CVoter survey in January indicated voters appear to be contented with his administration and the BJP will win a clear majority in the 543-member lower house of parliament if elections were held now.
Earlier attempts by opposition groups to form a bloc and emerge as an alternative to the BJP have failed to gather much traction.
The Congress party is set to pass a political resolution indicating its willingness to form alliances with regional parties. “Congress should go all out to identify, mobilise and align like-minded secular forces,” according to the draft resolution provided to media. “We should include secular regional forces who agree with our ideology.”
This time, the Congress party believes that a nationwide march by its senior leader Rahul Gandhi can boost its electoral prospects. His journey from the country’s southernmost tip to the icy north of Kashmir is seen as a do-or-die moment for Gandhi, who was broadly written off after the BJP defeated his party in the last two general elections.