From Patna promise to Patna paralysis: INDIA bloc’s grand unity unravels in Bihar

The grouping’s unity came undone in the same state where it was formed as a show of Opposition unity.

What began in Patna over two years after Nitish Kumar chaired the first INDIA bloc meeting in Bihar, the so-called architect of opposition solidarity, is back in the NDA — and the alliance he once built is now in disarray.

CPI and CPI(ML) are fuming too.

The RJD insists Tejashwi Yadav must be the bloc’s CM face, a demand Congress keeps sidestepping while pretending all’s well, according to a Times of India report.

“Everything has been finalised,” insisted Congress’s Pawan Khera, though it clearly hasn’t, the report noted.

The JMM has now walked out, declaring it will fight the Bihar polls alone and “re-evaluate” its alliance with Congress and RJD in Jharkhand — a polite way of saying goodbye.

“We will fight, win, and make sure that without the JMM, no government is formed in Bihar,” said JMM’s Supriyo Bhattacharya, adding salt to the bloc’s open wounds, according to the report.

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi prepares to launch the NDA’s campaign from Samastipur, BJP leaders are already jeering: “There is no such thing as Mahagathbandhan in Bihar.”

Even allies agree — the INDIA bloc, it seems, has too many leaders and no leadership.