The Congress' P Chidambaram was the former Union Home and Finance Minister (File).
Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram's remarks - on the staying power of the opposition INDIA bloc and about the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's "formidable machinery", both warnings delivered with an eye on the 2029 general election - have been pounced upon by the latter.
The BJP's Pradeep Bhandari shared a video on X the Congress' Rajya Sabha MP speaking at a Delhi event and said, "Congress leader P Chidambaram predicts - 'Opposition won't be intact in the future, BJP is a formidable organisation'. Even Rahul Gandhi's close aides know Congress has no future!"
Rajeev Chandrasekhar, an ex-Union Minister and the BJP's new Kerala unit chief, also weighed in, calling the bloc a "motley collection" that came together only because of their "love for corruption".
"The BJP is a formidable party because it believes in strong values/principles of India First, and cares for all Indians - and so has the support of most Indians," he said on X.
Neither the Congress nor Mr Chidambaram have responded so far.
The row began at the launch of a book - 'Contesting Democratic Deficit', co-authored by the Congress' Salman Khurshid - Thursday, when Mr Chidambaram confessed uncertainty over the INDIA bloc.
"The future is not so bright as Mr Mrityunjay Singh Yadav (the second co-author) says. He seems to feel that the INDIA alliance is still intact. I am not sure. Maybe Salman can answer... because he was part of the negotiating team of the INDIA alliance," Mr Chidambaram said Thursday.
"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..."
However, after the momentary optimistic note, Mr Chidambaram sounded out a warning to the Congress and other opposition parties not aligned with the BJP - that it is time to act.
"... in my experience, in my reading of history, there has been no political party which is so formidably organised as the BJP. In every department, it is formidable," he said.
"It is not (just) another political party..."
Bihar, Bengal, Tamil Nadu: INDIA's Test
The warning come months before a set of critical state polls that will re-shape the country's political landscape, either handing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party decisive wins that could pave the way for an unprecedented fourth successive general election victory in 2029.
Bihar will vote in the second half of 2025. Bengal and Tamil Nadu will vote in 2026, and Uttar Pradesh will vote in 2027. And Karnataka, Telangana, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh in 2028.
The first four are key; UP and Bihar are Hindi heartland states ruled by the BJP and its ally, Nitish Kumar's JDU, while Bengal and Tamil Nadu are among a dwindling handful to have continuously rejected the saffron party's muscular fundamentalism since Mr Modi came to power in 2014.
The Trinamool- and DMK-ruled states have seen bitter electoral battles in recent years, with the BJP steadily increasing shrill rhetoric and targeting of chief ministers Mamata Banerjee and MK Stalin to win control of states in which they have historically struggled for traction.
Victory in either one, or both, will feed the BJP's goal to dominate Indian politics at the federal and state levels and, crucially, possibly drive the final nail in the opposition's coffin.
Mr Chidambaram made that point at the book launch; he said the 2029 general election could either strengthen the BJP's already formidable political machinery or restore full-fledged democracy in India.
The INDIA Bloc
The INDIA bloc was formed in July 2023, in response to a series of crushing poll defeats for the opposition, including the 2019 Lok Sabha election in which the BJP won 303 seats on its own.
It was formed, Mr Khurshid told news agency ANI Friday, in response to the Congress - which he claimed had "ceded" top billing - recognising the need for a united non-BJP alliance.
"INDIA alliance was formed as we accepted the fact that we need an alliance in this fight. We did an alliance even by ceding our place. Alliance is needed... but it should be a good one... "
However, the grouping has had mixed success, with more defeats than wins and members unhappy with the Congress' leadership and apparent unwillingness to share seats with state or regional allies.
ARCHIVES | Allies Twist Knife In 'Arrogant' Congress After Haryana Loss
The Congress' dismal showing in last year's Haryana election is a case in point; the party's state leadership snubbed seat-sharing with INDIA ally the AAP, and contested against the BJP solo.
But the Congress lost, badly, prompting critical remarks from several INDIA members, including the RJD of Tejaswhi Yadav, with whom the party is allied in Bihar and will contest the 2025 election.
With input from agencies
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