Regional parties reassess INDIA bloc strategy after Bengal, Tamil Nadu poll setbacks

The defeats of Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in Tamil Nadu have triggered a rethink among regional Opposition parties over future political strategy and the shape of the INDIA bloc.

The situation became more complicated after the Congress decided to part ways with the DMK.

In her first press conference after the polls, Banerjee stressed the need to strengthen the INDIA bloc. With the Uttar Pradesh elections next on the horizon, Akhilesh Yadav travelled to Kolkata to stand by Banerjee. However, he also took an indirect swipe at the Congress over its decision to support the TVK.


Also Read: INDIA alliance intact despite Congress support to TVK govt: Sanjay Raut

Sharing photographs with Banerjee and M K Stalin on X, Yadav wrote: "We are not the ones who abandon each other in times of difficulty." The Congress-DMK fallout soon spilled into Parliament, with DMK MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi writing to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla seeking separate seating arrangements away from Congress MPs.

In Bihar, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav argued that only regional parties could stop the BJP. Arvind Kejriwal too remains firmly opposed to the Congress. In Odisha, the Biju Janata Dal led by Naveen Patnaik is understood to be open to a future alliance with the Congress.

While Akhilesh Yadav has maintained that the INDIA bloc will contest the UP elections together, uncertainty persists among Opposition allies over unity.

Also Read: SC should take cognizance of West Bengal poll process: Akhilesh Yadav