Fissures are visible in the Opposition’s Congress led INDIA Bloc, after the grand old party’s massive defeats in the recent Maharashtra and Haryana Assembly elections and not much appreciated performance in the State polls of Jharkhand and Jammu and Kashmir where the party contested with its alliance partners, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and National Conference (NC), respectively. Rather one of the key allies in INDIA Bloc, Trinamool Congress (TMC), on Tuesday pitched for their party supremo West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee be made the Bloc leader for all practical purposes, as the woman leader has a “100 percent record” to take the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Partners like TMC, Samajwadi Party (SP) have raised eyebrows as the alliance could not work in the bypolls of Uttar Pradesh other States and the defeats have been shouldered on Congress. Congress found itself without its key allies, including the SP and TMC during a joint Opposition protest in the Parliament complex on Tuesday.

The protest, spearheaded by members of the INDIA Bloc, focused on the demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into allegations of bribery and fraud against the Adani Group. While SP has prioritised the Sambhal violence issue to raise in Parliament, TMC has so far skipped all opposition meetings on formulating the INDIA Bloc’s joint strategy during the session. TMC MP Samik Bhattacharya called the protests led by Congress as their agenda where TMC and others do not figure.

Mamata Banerjee-led TMC said it will not be a rubber stamp for Congress decisions and advocated for smooth functioning of the ongoing Winter Session of the Parliament which was marred by continuous protest resulting in no business or discussions ever since it began on November 25.

The Government and Opposition parties reached an agreement on Monday to break a week-long impasse in Parliament with the dates announced for a discussion on the Constitution, to mark its 75th year of adoption, in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.

Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi led the demonstration in Parliament premises which saw MPs from the Congress, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Shiv Sena (UBT), Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), and Left parties, among others. However, the absence of SP and TMC highlighted fissures within the INDIA Bloc.

“Different parties have different perspectives, TMC has said that it is a part of the INDIA alliance but they sometimes have different agenda,” Congress chief spokesman Jairam Ramesh said.

Congress and the TMC had contested the Lok Sabha elections and the recent bypolls in West Bengal separately. The Trinamool Congress won all six seats in the bypoll and 29 of 40 constituencies in the Lok Sabha elections, bettering its 2019 tally despite a big effort being put into the state by the BJP.

“This attitude leads to electoral losses, ‘if we feel we’re winning, we will not accommodate regional party but, in States where we’re down, regional parties must accommodate us.’ Arrogance, entitlement, and looking down on regional parties is a recipe for disaster,” Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Saket Gokhale said.

On TMC leaders suggesting that Mamata Banerjee should be made the INDIA bloc leader, TMC Lok Sabha MP Kirti Azad said Mamata Banerjee has a 100 percent record. “Whenever Prime Minister Narendra Modi faced a humiliating defeat, it was only in West Bengal… Whenever he comes to insult Bengal and its honour, her vote share increases. She is a very senior leader. She speaks clearly. The Government of India did not say anything despite there being a grave situation in Bangladesh. She said that if the Centre does not do anything, the UN should intervene. Mamata Banerjee is not a leader but a ‘panth’. She resides in every household in West Bengal, in every household in the country. Mamata Banerjee is someone who takes everyone together. She calls people only after making preparations and taking her time,” Azad said.