Senior Congress leader and former Union Minister P. Chidambaram on Thursday issued a sobering assessment of the INDIA bloc’s cohesion, even as he praised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for being “formidably organised.” Speaking at the launch of Contesting Democratic Deficit: An Inside Story of the 2024 Elections by Salman Khurshid and Mrityunjay Singh Yadav, Chidambaram acknowledged internal strain within the opposition alliance and warned that time was running out to restore its unity.

“The future is not so bright as Mr. Mrityunjay Singh Yadav says. He seems to feel that the INDIA alliance is still intact. I am not sure. Maybe Salman (Khurshid) can answer because he was part of the negotiating team of the INDIA alliance,” Chidambaram remarked at the event held at the India International Centre in Delhi.

While making it clear that he would be "very happy" if the alliance remained intact, the Congress veteran admitted, “it seems frail.” Still, he struck a hopeful note:

“It can be put together. There is still time. There are still events which will unfold,” he said.

Chidambaram’s candid remarks come at a time when visible cracks have begun to emerge in the opposition grouping formed to counter the BJP’s growing national dominance. Despite some electoral coordination during the 2024 general elections, post-poll friction and lack of a clear leadership framework have raised questions about the alliance's future trajectory.

In a particularly striking section of his speech, Chidambaram underscored the challenge posed by the BJP’s political machinery.

“In my experience and reading of history, there has been no political party as formidably organised as the BJP. In every department, it’s formidable. It’s not another political party. It’s a machine behind which it’s a machine, and the two machines control all the machinery of India, from the Election Commission of India to the lowest police station in India.”

He emphasised that the INDIA bloc faces not a typical political adversary but a “formidable missionary.”

“This formidable missionary must be fought on all fronts,” he declared.

Looking ahead, Chidambaram stressed that the 2029 general elections would be a watershed moment for Indian democracy.

“2029 elections may make a decisive turn to strengthen this formidable missionary and then we are beyond repair, or the 2029 elections must return us to a full-fledged democracy,” he said, calling the upcoming elections “critical.”

BJP Hits Back Responding sharply, BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya mocked Chidambaram’s repeated use of the word “formidable,” calling it a reflection of the Congress party's psychological state post-defeat.

“P. Chidambaram used the word ‘formidable’ six times to describe the BJP and its election machinery in a speech that lasted less than three minutes. The successive defeats have left the Congress scarred, much like Pakistan after its bases were destroyed by the Indian Air Force,” Malviya said in a post on X.