Lok Sabha Elections 2024 | Union took too long to negotiate seat allocation, could have done better: Dipankar Bhattacharya

NEW DELHI: Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation Party general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya has said the Indian camp could have done better in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections and perhaps took too long to reach an agreement on seat allocation.

In an interview with a top editor PTI Speaking at a press conference at the agency’s headquarters, the Communist (Marxist) Liberation Movement leader also said that mass movements such as the peasant movement, youth movement and civil society movement, as well as the community of “digital warriors”, supplemented the opposition’s work in the elections.

The Left Party leader, affiliated to the All India Development Alliance (INDIA), said the margin of winning 30-40 seats was very narrow.

Bhattacharya said there was nothing “unfair” about the incident, but joked that the Opposition could have done better in the assembly elections.

“I can’t say that the polls were completely free of unfairness, but having said that, I think there were some states where we could have done better.”

“For example, Bihar is a state. If it could have performed at the same level as Uttar Pradesh, things would have been different. Perhaps the same goes for Karnataka, where the BJP is in power. The BJP would probably have performed a little better,” he said.

Referring to last year’s assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, Bhattacharya said failure to contest those elections jointly had weakened the opposition alliance.

“It would have been better if the INDI coalition had been taken into consideration in the three state assembly elections of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan. India’s voice was not reflected in these elections and the outcome was not what we wanted.”

“We lost a lot of momentum there. We only started to regain it this year. So, this loss of momentum is also significant. There is no way to get it back,” Bhattacharya said.

He also said the EU was spending too much time negotiating seat allocations.

“Perhaps we spent so much time on seat allocation talks that very little actual education work was done on the people,” he said.

The Left leader maintained that the Indian Union’s performance in the polls was achieved not only through the political strength of its constituents but also through support from the ongoing movement.

“I don’t think this is purely down to Indian political power. It was not just an India issue, it was an India plus issue.”

“There is an ongoing struggle – the peasant movement, the youth movement, the civil society movement – and all these movements are contributing their strength to the alliance,” he said.

“And then there’s this whole digital medium. I call it a community of digital freedom fighters. All these factors led to our success. It has actually become a people’s movement,” Bhattacharya added.

He said the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party had been hit “significantly” and was facing major setbacks, not just peripheral ones.

“This setback is not a minor one. It has to do with Hindutva and Modi worship, the so-called ‘Brand Modi’, which are the BJP’s strengths at the moment. I think both have suffered a major blow in this election,” the Left leader said.

Asked if the alliance would continue, he said, “Basically it is the demands of the situation. The situation does indeed call for a more united and integrated India so I see no reason why India cannot be united if we respond to the situation. It is a difficult alliance. Normally you can’t imagine such a wide cross section in one alliance, from Shiv Sena to CPI(ML). But when a situation like this arises, I think there will be mutual trust as we move forward together,” he said.

“How do we actually navigate our differences, or get past our differences and maintain this inclusive national unity, that’s the big challenge.

“Maybe as we move forward we will come out stronger and a little more resilient,” Bhattacharya added.

In the Indian Lok Sabha elections, the BJP won 240 seats, while the Indian National Congress came in second with 99. The ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won a majority with 293 seats, while the opposition coalition won 234 seats.