After the abysmal performance of the Indian National Congress in the Delhi Assembly Polls and the surprising ouster of the AAP from its ten-year reign, Omar Abdullah, the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, tweeted, “Jee bhar ke lado aapas mein (fight as much as you like amongst yourselves), referencing a meme he shared on X, “Sampat kar do ek dusre ko” (finish off each other), the post added.


Mr. Abdullah perfectly captures the plight of left-leaning voters in today’s political environment. On one hand is the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has been in power for the past 10 years and is expected to complete 15 years in 2029. At its helm stands Prime Minister Narendra Damordas Modi, whom the party admires for his charm, political acumen, and ruthlessness. While a voter like me can appreciate the resolve PM Modi has shown in implementing what he believes benefits the nation, I am left wandering in solitude when it comes to his aggressive stance on communal politics.


On the other hand is a toli (group) of a few regional parties, led by their big brother, aka, Congress, heading to the halwai (sweet shop) for mithai. When this toli arrives, a tu tu main main (petty squabble) erupts among the “kids”: one insists it was their idea to come, so they deserve more mithai, the other says the shop was their idea, and so on. Watching the colossal election machinery of the BJP and the visionless, fractured opposition, one might choose NOTA or simply opt not to vote at all.


As a left-leaning voter, you can’t fault me for calling the opposition weak or nodding in agreement when someone says: “There is no alternative to vote for”. For the longest time, I believed the media was distorting our reality as it unfolded, and while I am not completely wrong, the media is not as much in power as some like to think it is. Yes, the media is biased and is often blind, deaf, and dumb – but it isn’t inventing the hostility against the opposition, it is only fanning it. Over the last 11 years, Indian opposition parties have rightfully lost a great deal of credibility. Even if I attribute some blame to familiar culprits like the media and its advertisers, I can’t help but place a large share on the opposition itself.
Consider a simple scenario: let’s suppose I am a resident of Mumbai, where a significant portion of the roads are dug up. Where is the opposition leader asking how people are coping with this inconvenience? Where is the political party distributing pamphlets on how Mumbaikars suffer from terrible air quality and noise pollution? Where is the opposition leader proposing real solutions? Where is the political party carrying out morchas asking for reduction in frequent disruptions? Opposition political parties are criminally absent. This is India, boss! Here, once you are out of sight, you are out of mind.

A striking feature of the INDIA alliance, which took shape during the Lok Sabha polls, was the strength it demonstrated against the incumbent. Like most relationships, India’s tryst with the Congress, the face of the opposition, ended on a sour note. Now, the Congress says it has revamped and wants to win India back. But sanam, Bollywood se kuch seekho, hum itni aasani se nahin maante. (Learn from Bollywood, we don’t surrender so easily!) Why should Indians give the Congress another chance when the ruling BJP has kept most people enthralled with its vision of a Viksit Bharat (developed India)? What motivation do people have to kick the BJP out and let the Congress in, when the BJP behaves like a good roommate – collecting our rent each month and also paying its share? The reality may be that the house is already paid for, and the rent the roommate collects just goes straight into its own savings, but how will we ever know? Congress and its leader Raul Gandhi must also acknowledge the lack of trust Indians have in their leadership. Whether this arises from the countless “Pappu” memes or Raul’s own hesitation to become a true leader is beyond the scope of this discussion. Indians voted for Congress in large numbers during the Lok Sabha elections because it was backed by prominent regional political figures. Yet, even then, they only permitted Congress to emerge as a stronger opposition—not the ruling party.


If the INDIA bloc wants to save the “damsel in distress” and play the hero, it first needs to make her aware of her entrapment. If the damsel is sitting in boiling water like a frog, and the INDIA bloc merely mutters suggestions to get out of the pot, that frog is doomed. Moreover, one should note: the BJP is the party chosen by the majority. The majority remain largely unaffected by the crimes committed on the minorities – the opposition has failed at highlighting how the majority too are being taken for a ride by the incumbent. The left parties have rightly faced criticism for their ivory tower attitude toward their own constituents. It’s easy to throw out theories and historical lessons, but if nobody grasps their importance, who is at fault really? Those who never knew any better, or those who should have come down to grassroots level, broken bread with the proletariat, listened to their problems and come up with tangible solutions? You decide.


After accepting a diminished mandate in the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP’s primary aim has been to strengthen its influence in state assemblies (Vidhan Sabhas). The math isn’t difficult: even if they don’t secure a massive majority in the Lok Sabha, they can still pass laws and award contracts to their allies at the state level. While the BJP has managed to polarize people by religion, it hasn’t succeeded in polarizing them by language or more specifically, region. India’s real diversity is its languages: the tongue spoken at the southernmost tip is not the same as at the northernmost. In one of BJP’s own erstwhile ruled state – Karnataka – differences over languages are taking big shape.

Whatever the BJP has failed to dominate remains fertile ground for the Opposition to claim. If the Opposition can present a united front at the regional level – whether by having the Congress consolidate regional players under a common ideology or by allowing them to retain their distinct identities within the INDIA bloc – they stand a real chance of winning an election. Many would agree that BJP has failed at ensuring cooperation, they are best when it comes to dominance and overpowering but are colossal failures at blending and integrating. This could be the Opposition’s strength. One fascinating aspect of India’s many languages is that they are shaped by geography; even though immigration has spread various languages across the nation, states remain the pot where the linguistic masala is given a proper tadka (tempering).
If the opposition wants to lose yet another battle and the country along with it to the BJP’s saffron tide, all they need to do is keep letting narrow party interests overshadow collective strategy. The INDIA bloc now stands before a pivotal opportunity to exemplify true national unity—will they rise to the challenge?

At the halwai shop, bade bhaiya (the elder brother) must manage all the quarreling siblings while still leaving with a full stomach. He can either assert his authority and ensure equal shares for everyone or engage in politics, letting the loudest make the biggest fuss and get the most mithai, while promising the others their turn next time.


To summarize, the INDIA bloc can blame the media or accuse the agencies working against them, but for me as a voter, the status quo still feels acceptable. Unless I become aware of the boiling water around me, and the same happens for Manpreet in his state and Sundar in his, none of us are likely to leap from the pot.
Hurry, before it’s too late.