Cracks in India’s opposition alliance against PM Modi ahead of elections

Two key opposition leaders have walked out of the Congress-led alliance, dealing it a big blow.

New Delhi, India — Over the weekend, a popular joke on Indian social media featured Nitish Kumar, the 72-year-old nine-time chief minister of the east Indian state of Bihar.

Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) party, or just JD(U), had been a part of the INDIA opposition bloc – a group of more than two dozen political outfits that hopes to take on the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in national elections between March and May.

But on Sunday, he broke away and instead joined hands with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), a coalition of parties led by the BJP. He resigned as chief minister, then was sworn in again, this time with his new partners — all within hours.

The joke (when translated) read: “Nitish Kumar is the only chief minister, who while being chief minister, resigns as chief minister so that he can remain chief minister.”

The BJP and its allies might well be laughing. Two months before nearly a billion Indians vote to elect their next government, Kumar’s exit from the INDIA alliance serves as a blow to the opposition’s chances of challenging Modi, who is aiming for a third term as prime minister. It also reveals deeper fissures in the opposition alliance.

Also last week, Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister of the neighbouring state of West Bengal and leader of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) party, pulled out of the alliance, which is led by India’s principal opposition party, the Congress. Apart from the Congress, the alliance primarily consists of regional, state-specific parties.

Both Banerjee and Kumar cited rifts with the Congress for their exit from the alliance. The main bone of