Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah on Saturday said the opposition INDIA bloc is currently "on life support" and risks being wheeled into the "ICU" due to infighting and a failure to match the BJP's round-the-clock election machine.
Speaking at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit in New Delhi, Abdullah detailed the "organisational and strategic failures" of the opposition bloc, contrasting its approach with the BJP's "unparalleled" work ethic.
Talking about the INDIA bloc's current health, particularly in the aftermath of the recent Bihar elections, Abdullah said, "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."
Abdullah also blamed the INDIA bloc for the return of Nitish Kumar to the BJP-led NDA, saying, "I believe that we pushed Nitish Kumar back into the arms of the NDA."
He also pointed to the alliance's failure to take a cohesive view, citing the decision to consciously exclude the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha from the Bihar seat-sharing arrangement despite the party's presence in the state.
Abdullah compared the INDIA bloc's electioneering to that of the BJP, and said the opposition alliance is structurally unable to compete with the ruling party's disciplined approach.
"They have an unparalleled election machine," he said, noting that this strength goes beyond mere organisation and funding.
"They also have an incredible work ethic in terms of how they deal with elections... They fight every election as if their lives depend on it. We sometimes fight elections as if we don't care," he said.
Abdullah emphasised the 24x7 model of politics pursued by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his team, and said that "no sooner has one election finished, they've already moved into the next territory... We will move into those states two months before the elections. We will be lucky if we sew up our electoral alliances before the last date of filing nominations".
Looking ahead, Abdullah said the only way for the opposition to mount a serious challenge (to the BJP) is to rally around its largest constituent -- the Congress -- the only party other than the BJP to have a pan-India presence.
Acknowledging that regional parties are constrained by their limited geographical reach, he said, "The heavy lifting will have to be done by the Congress."
Regarding the Muslim electorate, Abdullah suggested that the traditional recipients of the Muslim vote have "made a mistake" by taking the community for granted, and only engaging with them just before elections, leading to a churn that benefits parties like AIMIM, which are willing to "espouse our cause for the entire period of five years".
Asked if it meant that the results of the 2024 general elections were a fluke, Abdullah said, "No, I think the country sent a message to the Central government, to Prime Minister Modi and others in 2024 that things are not as rosy as you made them out to be, and that we are not happy with some of the decisions that have been taken." -- PTI