Chidambaram Drops Truth Bomb on Congress Exposing Cracks in Opposition Strategy: Lauds BJP’s Strength, Calls INDI Alliance 'Frail'

In what may be the most significant internal assessment of the Congress and the opposition alliance in recent months, veteran leader and former Union Minister P Chidambaram has raised serious doubts about the existence and viability of the INDI Alliance and issued rare praise for the organisational strength of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Speaking at the launch of the book Contesting Democratic Deficit by Salman Khurshid and Mrityunjay Singh Yadav, Chidambaram warned that the opposition front is not only ‘frail’ but lacks the strategic depth required to take on the ‘formidable’ BJP.

“I am not sure if the INDI Alliance is still intact,” Chidambaram said candidly, challenging the narrative projected by the Congress leadership. 

“Maybe Salman (Khurshid) can answer because he was part of the negotiating team. If the INDIA alliance is totally intact, I would be very, very happy, but it seems frail. It can be put together. There is still time. There are still events which will unfold.”

The words of the senior Congress leader came at a time when the opposition unity is increasingly under scrutiny, with key regional players adopting wait-and-watch approaches. 

‘BJP Is Not Just Another Party’

What caught the eyes in political corridors was Chidambaram’s frank acknowledgment of the BJP’s formidable political foothold. “There has been no political party which is so formidably organised as the BJP,” he said. “In every department, it is formidable. It’s not another political party.”

Asserting that alliances cannot be stitched at the time of elections, Chidambaram spoke about his experience that how successful coalitions, like those in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, are built over years of shared struggle.

“Alliances have to be nursed for five years. Tamil Nadu and Kerala – the only two states in which the alliance has worked consistently. They may have lost an election or won. The alliances that have been nursed through defeat and victory are in Kerala and Tamil Nadu,” he added. 

Shashi Tharoor’s Remarks Add to Growing Unease

Chidambaram’s comments came days after another key leader of Congress MP Shashi Tharoor voiced serious concerns about the party’s push for a caste-based census and Rahul Gandhi’s slogan ‘Jitni Aabadi, Utna Haq’ in an interview with a news portal. He said that he won’t endorse this slogan of his party unconditionally. 

While affirming the need for social justice, Tharoor warned that reducing governance solely to caste equations could backfire and contradict the vision of India’s founding leaders. “Jawaharlal Nehru hoped that caste would fade away. Dr Ambedkar wanted caste to be eradicated. Now we are doing the opposite…,” he said in the interview.

Tharoor further questioned that if 80 per cent of India is Hindu, should that majority determine everything? He further explained the adversity while asking  since South India has a smaller population compared to North India, will it be acceptable if North India decides everything for the South?