New Delhi: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah on Saturday warned that the opposition INDIA bloc is currently “on life support” and risks being wheeled into the “ICU” due to infighting and failure to match the BJP’s relentless election machine.

Abdullah highlights opposition weaknesses

Speaking at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit, Abdullah detailed the “organisational and strategic failures” of the INDIA bloc. He contrasted the opposition’s performance with the BJP’s disciplined approach, saying: “They have an unparalleled election machine. They also have an incredible work ethic in terms of how they deal with elections... We sometimes fight elections as if we don’t care.”

Abdullah said the Bihar elections reflected these shortcomings, adding: “We’re sort of on life support, but every once in a while, somebody brings out his paddles and gives us a bit of a shock, and we get up again. But then, unfortunately, results like Bihar happen, and we slump down again, and then somebody has to wheel us into the ICU.”

Need for cohesive leadership

Omar Abdullah stressed that regional parties have limited reach and argued that the Congress, as the largest pan-India party in the alliance, must do the “heavy lifting.” On the Muslim electorate, he observed that traditional recipients of Muslim votes have “made a mistake” by engaging only during elections, benefiting parties like AIMIM that work year-round.

Priyanka Chaturvedi calls for regrouping

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi responded to Abdullah’s remarks, saying:“Omar Abdullah has always been very straightforward in his politics. He is clear about what he thinks, and he expresses it openly. As for the INDIA alliance, even before the Bihar elections, Uddhav Thackeray had said that a meeting was necessary, but after the Lok Sabha elections, no major meeting of the full alliance has taken place.”

She added that all parties, particularly the Congress, need to: “Rethink, rework, re-energize, regroup, and figure out how to come together again, just as we built momentum during the Lok Sabha elections, and carry that into the state elections.”

Election manipulation concerns

Abdullah also addressed concerns over electoral manipulation, distinguishing it from EVM rigging: “Elections can be manipulated. And the easiest way to manipulate an election is to do it through the voter list or through the way in which you structure constituencies.”

He cited the Jammu and Kashmir delimitation exercise as an example, describing it as designed to benefit “one party and its one ally” and stressing the need for transparency in voter list revisions.

Abdullah concluded that the opposition must learn from these shortcomings and build a cohesive, strategic alliance to effectively challenge the BJP’s 24x7 campaign model in upcoming state elections.
(With PTI inputs)