New Delhi (Agency): With the anticipation of next year’s general elections growing, political dynamics in India are in full swing. While 65 political parties have already chosen their sides, aligning with either the BJP or the Congress-led coalition, there are 11 parties with a total of 91 Members of Parliament (MPs) who remain on the fence.
These 11 parties, ruling in substantial states such as Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Odisha, have decided to maintain a neutral stance for now. These states, which together send 63 members to the Lok Sabha, have largely marginalized Congress and other opposition parties.
On Wednesday, the Congress and 25 other opposition parties unveiled the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) to challenge the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which now comprises 39 parties.
The neutral parties include the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP), Biju Janata Dal (BJD), Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), Janata Dal (Secular), Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP), and SAD (Mann).
Interestingly, the YSRCP, which dominated the 2019 elections in Andhra Pradesh, and the BJD, in power in Odisha since 2000, have generally supported the BJP-led government in Parliament. The BRS, the ruling party in Telangana since its inception in 2014, earlier showed interest in exploring an opposition alliance. However, they have decided to remain out of the newly formed coalition.
The BSP, led by Mayawati and with nine Lok Sabha members, is also absent from the opposition alliance. The party has ruled Uttar Pradesh four times and announced plans to contest independently in the Lok Sabha elections next year and assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Telangana.
Mayawati expressed her stance by saying, “We have to ensure that there is a ‘helpless’ (majboor) government and not a strong government at the Centre. Only this would ensure that the interests of the poor, dalits, adivasis, oppressed, and minorities are upheld even if the BSP doesn’t come to power.”
Naveen Patnaik, BJD chief and Odisha Chief Minister, criticized the BJP for inadequate support to the state in central schemes. He encouraged party MPs to voice this issue loudly in the Monsoon Session of Parliament starting Thursday.
Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM, also excluded from the opposition alliance, expressed dissatisfaction, calling the party “political untouchables.” With a significant presence in Hyderabad and surrounding areas in Telangana, AIMIM aims to grow in Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Karnataka.
Waris Pathan, the AIMIM spokesperson, criticized the opposition alliance, pointing out that leaders such as Nitish Kumar, Uddhav Thackeray, and Mehbooba Mufti, who previously aligned with the BJP, were included in the Bengaluru gathering, while AIMIM, working to defeat the BJP, was overlooked.