Promise and premise of INDIA erode in key battlefield states
INDIA bloc of opposition parties are coming together to flex their muscles. On Sunday, they are organising a protest rally in Ramlila Maidan in Delhi against the Delhi Chief Minister and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal's arrest where they expect more than 1 lakh people to turn up.
Since last year, the INDIA bloc has struggled to come together in a joint rally. A joint INDIA rally in Bhopal was announced for the first week of October last year on the issues of “rising prices, unemployment and corruption of the BJP government” right before the Madhya Pradesh elections but Congress leader Kamal Nath cancelled it.
While two MPs of Trinamool Congress confirmed their participation, the AAP and Congress functionaries have said confirmation was being taken from all other alliance partners on their presence at the rally. The senior leadership of the AAP, Congress and other partners are likely to participate in the show of strength. The AAP and Congress eye the Ramlila Maidan protest on March 31 as an opportunity to create synchronisation among their Delhi cadres ahead of the Lok Sabha election.
The INDIA bloc direly needs such a joint rally at this juncture. The BJP is ridiculing the internal bickerings of the INDIA bloc in its campaign ads after the bloc splintered in many states on the issue of seat sharing.
The INDIA bloc began with a striking premise: if the opposition parties join hands for the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP's aggressive dominance can be challenged. The prospect of this unity held the promise of not just
