P Chidambaram expresses concern, says 'not sure’ if INDIA bloc still intact

New Delhi: Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Thursday, May 15, praising rival Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), termed it to be “formidably organised" in every department and also voiced doubts about INDIA bloc, saying he was not sure if the opposition alliance was still intact.

Chidambaram made these remarks while speaking at the book launch event of Salman Khurshid and Mritunjay Singh Yadav's 'Contesting Democratic Deficit: An Inside Story of the 2024 Elections' at the India International Centre in the national capital.

"The future is not so bright as Mr Mrityunjay Singh Yadav says. He seems to feel that the INDIA alliance is still intact. I am not sure. Maybe Salman (Khurshid) can answer because he was part of the negotiating team of the INDIA alliance," he said.

The former finance minister added that only Salman (Khurshid) could reveal the current condition of the INDIA bloc, because he was a part of the negotiating team for the alliance.

“If the alliance is totally intact, I will be very happy, but it shows at the seams that it is frayed," Chidambaram said, adding that he hoped that the alliance can “still be put together, there’s still time".

Speaking about the BJP, he hailed the organizational structure of the saffron brigade and said that in his experience and reading of history, there has been no political party as formidably organised as the BJP. "In every department, it's formidable. It's not another political party. It's a machine behind which it's a machine, and the two machines control all the machinery of India, from the Election Commission of India to the lowest police station in India; they are able to control or sometimes capture these institutions," Chidambaram added.

“From the Election Commission to the lowest police station in the country, they (BJP) are able to control and sometimes capture these institutions. It is a formidable machinery, as much as can be allowed in a democracy," he said.

Speaking on the 2029 general elections, Chidambaram said either the INDI alliance, which is battling a 'formidable missionary' (BJP), could either strengthen the saffron party or lead to the restoration of "a full-fledged democracy".

"The 2029 elections may make a decisive turn to strengthen this formidable missionary, and then we are beyond repair, or the 2029 elections must return us to a full-fledged democracy. The 2029 elections are critical," he asserted.