New Delhi, Sep 30 : The political developments over the past few months within the INDIA bloc have triggered the debate around a pertinent question of whether this bloc now “stands disintegrated”.

Strained relations among coalition members are worsening with every passing day. The conflicts are clearly visible in the states such as Haryana, Delhi, Punjab, Bihar, West Bengal, Maharashtra and Jharkhand.

The discord seems to be reaching a critical point, with Congress adopting a more confrontational position against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Congress is gradually positioning itself as a key rival to the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal. It may be recalled that before the Lok Sabha elections, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had expressed her disapproval of any efforts to project Congress MP Rahul Gandhi as a potential prime ministerial candidate. Banerjee has also not participated in any major meetings of the INDIA bloc since it came into being.

The situation worsened further during a recent protest at Sagore Dutta Hospital, where Congress leaders, led by state president Shubhankar Sarkar, reached out to doctors protesting an assault by a patient’s family. But Sarkar and his colleagues faced protests from the doctors, who raised “go back” slogans.

After this, Congress launched fresh attacks on the Trinamool government, slamming it for what it called “poor law and order”.

This incident implies the widening rift within the INDIA bloc, which was formed to pose a challenge to the BJP’s dominance politics. Needless to say, the alliance is facing problems, with various constituents being at odds due mainly to personal ambitions of the leader.