Senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP P. Chidambaram raised serious concerns about the cohesion of the opposition INDI Alliance on Thursday, May 15, 2025, suggesting that the alliance is “frayed at the seams” and its future uncertain.
Speaking at the launch of the book Contesting Democratic Deficit: An Inside Story of the 2024 Elections by Salman Khurshid and Mritunjay Singh Yadav at the India International Centre in New Delhi, Chidambaram warned that the 2029 general elections will be critical for restoring India’s democracy or cementing the dominance of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) “formidable machinery.”
Chidambaram expressed scepticism about the opposition alliance’s current state, casting doubt on claims of its unity.
“The future is not so bright as Mr. Mritunjay Singh Yadav said. He seemed to feel that the India alliance is still intact. I’m not sure. It’s only Salman can answer, because he was part of the negotiating team for the India alliance. If the India alliance is intact, I’m very, very happy. But it shows, it’s at the seams, it’s frayed,” Chidambaram said.
BIG BREAKING NEWS 🚨 P Chidambaram said “The future (of INDIA bloc) is not so bright”
“I am not sure if INDIA alliance is still intact”
“In my experience and my reading of history, there has been no political party so formidably organised as the BJP” pic.twitter.com/WVRSyo2Tzu
— Times Algebra (@TimesAlgebraIND) May 15, 2025
He added a note of cautious optimism, stating, “It can be put together, there’s still time.”
The former Union finance minister described the BJP as an unparalleled political force, unlike any other in India’s history. “In my experience and my reading of history, there has been no political party so formidably organised as the BJP. It’s not just another political party. It’s a machine behind a machine, and the two machines control all the machinery in India,” he said. Chidambaram alleged that the BJP’s influence extends from the Election Commission to the lowest police stations, enabling it to “control and sometimes capture these institutions.” He emphasised that this “formidable machinery” must be challenged on multiple fronts, warning that the opposition is up against a force “as much as can be allowed in a democracy.”
The book Contesting Democratic Deficit details the Congress party’s efforts to revive its fortunes ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, including the “emotionally charged” Bharat Jodo Yatra and the “historic” formation of the INDIA bloc, which brought together diverse political forces to defend an “inclusive, pluralistic India.” Khurshid and Yadav, in their account, highlight the challenges of uniting opposition parties to counter the BJP’s dominance.
Chidambaram underscored the resilience of India’s electoral democracy, noting that while elections can be influenced, they cannot be wholly manipulated.
“You can interfere with elections in India. You can tinker with them. But you can’t get away with elections. You can’t have elections where the ruling party gets away with 98 percent of the votes. That is not possible in India,” he said.
However, he warned that the 2029 elections will be a make-or-break moment for the country’s democratic future. “The 2029 elections may make a decisive turn to strengthen this formidable machinery, and then we are beyond repair, or the 2029 elections must return us to a full-fledged democracy. The 2029 elections are critical,” he stated.
Salman Khurshid, a former foreign minister and co-author of the book, echoed Chidambaram’s concerns about the INDIA bloc, acknowledging that issues within the alliance need urgent attention. “We need to address the concerns. The takeaway from Chidambaram’s views is that we have to be prepared for a very major battle in 2029. We have to deal with the whole idea of how to get the alliance partners together,” Khurshid said.
He stressed the need for the opposition to think beyond seat-sharing arrangements and focus on achieving a “massive reversal” of current electoral trends.
“If we only think how many seats we will contest and what will happen once the results are out, we will miss out on the major thing we set out to do, which is to effect a massive reversal of electoral trends in the country,” he added.
The event highlighted growing anxieties within the Congress and its allies about the INDIA bloc’s ability to present a united front against the BJP, especially as the ruling party continues to consolidate its organisational and institutional dominance.
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