Grim Scenario : P Chidambaram Raises Doubts On The Future Of INDIA Alliance ; Admits BJP’s Formidable Machinery

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram has voiced concerns about the INDIA bloc, saying he was not sure if the opposition alliance was still intact.

According to PTI, Speaking at the launch of Salman Khurshid and Mritunjay Singh Yadav’s book Contesting Democratic Deficit, Chidambaram also said he felt that it showed at the seams that the alliance was frayed.

“The future (of INDIA bloc) is not so bright, as Mritunjay Singh Yadav said. He seems to feel that the alliance is still intact, but I am not sure. It is only Salman (Khurshid) who can answer because he was part of the negotiating team for the INDIA bloc. If the alliance is totally intact, I will be very happy. But it shows at the seams that it is frayed,” Chidambaram, a Rajya Sabha MP, said.

He also hoped that the alliance could “still be put together, there’s still time”.

The former Union finance minister warned that the INDIA bloc was fighting against a “formidable machinery”, which must be fought on all fronts.

“In my experience and my reading of history, there has been no political party so formidably organised as the BJP. It’s not just another political party. It’s a machine behind a machine and the two machines control all the machineries in India.

“From the Election Commission to the lowest police station in the country, they (BJP) are able to control and sometimes capture these institutions. It is a formidable machinery, as much as can be allowed in a democracy,” Chidambaram said.

In the book, Khurshid and Yadav reflect on the Congress’ revival efforts ahead of last year’s Lok Sabha elections — from the emotionally-charged “Bharat Jodo Yatra” to the “historic” formation of the INDIA bloc comprising diverse political forces.

Khurshid and Yadav recount how the opposition parties rallied “to defend the idea of an inclusive, pluralistic India”.