Omar Abdullah's "Life Support" Assessment Divides INDIA Alliance as BJP Celebrates Opposition Disarray

A Congress leader has affirmed that Omar Abdullah, as an INDIA alliance partner, would not defect to the BJP.

New Delhi:

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has sparked significant political controversy with his candid assessment of the INDIA opposition bloc, describing it as being on "life support." His remarks have elicited diverse reactions, with some alliance partners dismissing his comments, others acknowledging their accuracy, while the BJP appears amused by the internal discord.

Speaking at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit in New Delhi, Abdullah elaborated on the challenges facing the opposition coalition: "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."

In a politically noteworthy observation, Abdullah suggested that the INDIA bloc "pushed Nitish Kumar back into the arms of the NDA." He also criticized the alliance's failure to include Hemant Soren's Jharkhand Mukti Morcha in Bihar's seat-sharing arrangement, despite the party's presence in certain regions of the state.

RJD's Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Jha responded firmly to Abdullah's comments: "People comment hastily in adverse circumstances, but one should avoid doing so. Everything is in the hands of the public. If the alliance is on life support, Omar is also a part of the alliance. What are his attempts to revive it? This is not about one political party; it is the responsibility of all members. Responsibility does not end with taunting," Jha informed PTI.

Congress MP Manoj Kumar defended Abdullah's position within the coalition: "Omar is our alliance partner. Sometimes people raise questions. He is in the India Alliance. If he finds something lacking, he is saying so that our alliance remains stronger. He will not go to the BJP, he is with us. People of Jammu and Kashmir trust Rahul Gandhi. That is why Omar Abdullah got a big victory in Jammu and Kashmir." In last year's Jammu and Kashmir elections—the first since its conversion to a Union Territory and revocation of special status—Abdullah's National Conference secured 42 seats while Congress won six.

Meanwhile, the BJP is capitalizing on the apparent disunity within the opposition bloc. Senior BJP figure Shahnawaz Hussain declared: "Omar Abdullah is wrong. INDI alliance is not on life support; it has died. INDI Alliance ended after the Lok Sabha election. A tribute should be paid to it. It has neither leader nor policy."