The question — is it the right time for the opposition-minus Congress to assert its identity today — no longer seems overstated. The churn has begun and loud voices are seeking a change in the INDIA bloc’s leadership. Mamata Banerjee and Akhilesh Yadav – the bloc’s two major performers – have started targeting Congress at its most vulnerable points. Their party leaders are directly and indirectly pointing fingers at the grand old party and its leader Rahul Gandhi.

Their contentions are not unfounded. The Congress has lost its sheen over the past few decades and has witnessed more downslides even as the Gandhi family’s electoral fortunes have excelled. It has failed to build on issues and corner the Modi-led government and is rather obsessed with businessmen and the Prime Minister. Despite having Mallikarjun Kharge as its president, the Congress is largely perceived as a Gandhi family-dominated party.

The family has done itself well with Rahul Gandhi winning two Lok Sabha seats – Wayanad and Rae Bareli; Priyanka Gandhi Vadra registering a huge victory in Wayanad after her brother chose to retain Rae Bareli; mother Sonia Gandhi successfully shifted to the Rajya Sabha later giving up Rae Bareli Lok Sabha for her son. Family loyalist Kishori Lal Sharma wrested the Amethi Lok Sabha seat from Smriti Irani.

The family has secured its fortunes but the party has floundered. Except for Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh, the Congress has performed badly in the rest of the states. The party’s better performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections is being credited to the regional allies.

For instance, in the Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh, it was chiefly Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party (SP) that did the best in the INDIA bloc and helped the Congress to gain also. The Samajwadi Party raised its tally to 37 seats from five and its vote share jumped from 18.11 per cent to 33.59 per cent. Congress increased its vote share by over three per cent to 9.46 per cent with six seats against one earlier.

While SP helped Congress in Uttar Pradesh, in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections the grand old party refused to accommodate Akhilesh Yadav’s party. In the recently held bypolls also, Congress fared poorly in comparison to its INDIA bloc allies. The Trinamool Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party did much better. The only consolation for the Congress party was winning all three seats in Karnataka and retaining one in Madhya Pradesh.

However, its performance in Rajasthan, Assam, Punjab and Gujarat was poor. In the Jharkhand Assembly polls, which the INDIA bloc has been celebrating, the truth is that the Hemant Soren-led JMM’s strong performance secured the victory. It certainly was not Congress’ win.

In the South, the DMK has been going strong and has elbowed out all, including Congress though it is an INDIA bloc ally. The only place where the grand old party has been able to maintain its lead is Karnataka. The Opposition minus Congress has started expressing itself openly. Raising the bugle this time is none other than Mamata Banerjee.

In Bengal, she has maintained her supremacy in the Lok Sabha elections and the Assembly polls and the various bypolls. She remains unvanquished. She has stopped the BJP from growing in the state and has pinned the rest, including the Left and the Congress.

The Trinamool’s dominance in West Bengal has bolstered its position within the INDIA bloc, especially after the recent bypoll victories in the state. The back-to-back wins have reinforced Mamata Banerjee’s stature as a formidable anti-BJP force in the opposition bloc. Her party leaders have been calling on the Congress and other INDIA bloc allies to set aside their egos and recognise Mamata Banerjee as the leader of the alliance.

They have also said that the Congress should take the backseat. The Maharashtra Assembly election results seem to be the last straw for the Opposition minus Congress. Days after a few of her party, Trinamool Congress MPs, said that she should be in the INDIA bloc’s driver’s seat, Mamata Banerjee expressed her wish. She said that she was ready to take up the leadership of the INDIA bloc.

Quickly lending her support was the Samajwadi Party, which urged the INDIA bloc to discuss Mamata Banerjee’s suggestion and extended “100 per cent support and cooperation” to her. The party also wants Congress to take responsibility for the losses, be it in Haryana or Maharashtra where it was the main party.

The CPI has also been equally scathing of the Congress for not accommodating its allies, especially in the Haryana and Maharashtra polls. Nationalist Congress Party (SP) MP Supriya Sule has also positively reacted to Mamata Banerjee’s statement. Sule has said that they will be happy if the Trinamool Congress chief takes on more responsibility within the alliance.

The Congress, which is still reeling from the Maharashtra loss, may find it difficult to resist INDIA allies’ contentions this time. The party may or may not go for introspection but the Opposition minus Congress needs to find its footing and this is the right time.