Congress has not learnt from its past mistakes

Ever since we saw the end of the political dominance of one party or a virtual one-party rule, barring a few exceptions here and there, alliances have sustained government-making in the Centre. The 2014 poll, which took on the look and feel of a US-style presidential contest, threw up a single party majority after a long while. But without a majority in the Upper House, the BJP hung on to its NDA umbrella, accommodating its allies in government. The party has displayed the same need-based canniness while stitching up seat-sharing arrangements with old and new allies, sometimes even swallowing pride. 

Take Maharashtra: It has given an equal share of seats to the Shiv Sena, which often sounds harsher than the BJP’s worst critics. The BJP chief set aside his party’s ego to reach out to Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, to retain his party’s oldest ally. In Tamil Nadu, another bellwether state, the BJP took the lead to put together a formidable alliance.

In comparison, the Grand Old Party, though bereft of much of its pan-Indian grandness, has failed to be equally nifty in the art of making friends. Alliances in Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra were clinched thanks to its regional allies, the DMK and NCP. 

In Andhra Pradesh, the tie-up with the TDP is still hanging, with both sides smarting over the Telangana poll disaster. In UP, the most crucial state, the Congress is trying to make a virtue out of its exclusion from the SP-BSP gathbandan.

In Delhi, standing on prestige, it has spurned repeated overtures from the AAP. Obviously, it has not learnt from past fiascos, when friends and allies walked out just because the leadership refused to give an appointment. Pulwama-Balakot/Indo-Pak can only provide background noise: India is too big and diverse to be steered by that narrative alone. The GOP needs to wake up and smell the coffee: It’s a blended one.