How did the Opposition fare in 2025?

Electoral defeats, breakup of alliances and cross-voting, 2025 was a twelvemonth of disappointments for India’s Opposition. After failing to stop the Bharatiya Janata Party to recapture the Lok Sabha in 2024, the Congress-led bloc — Indian National Developmental, Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) also mislaid State elections successful Delhi and Bihar this year. From Aam Aadmi Party to Trinamool Congress, allies person besides exited the INDIA bloc implicit disagreements connected assorted issues and seat-sharing formulae. 

The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, which kicked disconnected conscionable earlier the Bihar elections successful November, provided a agreed level for INDIA bloc to protest. Led by Rahul Gandhi, Opposition leaders specified arsenic Tejashwi Yadav, Akhilesh Yadav, Kanimozhi accused the Election Commission of India of elector disenfranchisement, vote fraud and  favouring the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). This was a predominant canvass plank for the Opposition during Bihar elections

However, aft Bihar re-elected NDA, giving Nitish Kumar an unprecedented tenth term as CM, Congress was near unsocial blaming ‘vote fraud’ for its electoral drubbing. Its allies specified arsenic National Conference (NC) and Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar) (NCP-SP) person distanced themselves from it.

Here’s a look astatine the significant events which shaped INDIA bloc this year: 

January: 10 Opposition MPs suspended from Waqf Amendment Bill, 2025

The twelvemonth kicked disconnected on an acrimonious note after 10 Opposition MPs part of the Parliament’s Joint Committee on Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 were suspended for ‘unruly behaviour’. The suspended MPs alleged that the Committee chair Jagadambika Pal had set a deadline for the submitting its report and pushed the ‘clause-by-clause’ consideration meeting ‘unilaterally’ without discussion. Moreover, Mr. Pal suspended the MPs allegedly aft “speaking to idiosyncratic connected the phone” during the meeting.

February

AAP unseated successful Delhi after a decade

Ending AAP’s 12-year reign successful the capital, BJP stormed to power winning 48 seats successful the 70-member Assembly. The Aam Aadmi Party, which could not hold connected a pre-poll confederation with its INDIA state Congress, was reduced to 22 seats. The 2 parties had contested jointly for the Lok Sabha polls successful 2024. Congress, which fought connected each 70 seats, failed to open its account. AAP main and ex-CM Arvind Kejriwal lost his New Delhi constituency to BJP’s Parvesh Verma by 4,000 votes with Congress’ Sandeep Dikshit polling 4,568 votes. 

The Opposition’s nonaccomplishment is mostly owed to AAP and Congress focusing connected campaigning against each different isolated from targetting BJP, which sent mixed messages to the electorate. INDIA allies Shiv Sena and NC criticised the AAP-Congress for eating into each others’ votes.

Trinamool announces plans to spell solo successful 2026 polls

After questioning Congress’ quality to pb INDIA, Trinamool Congress main Mamata Banerjee told her MLAs that her enactment would beryllium contesting solo in the West Bengal Assembly elections owed successful 2026. The 2 had besides contested the 2024 Lok Sabha polls separately in Bengal, with the Trinamool retaining 29 of the 42 seats, portion Congress was reduced to 1 seat. 

‘Congress has nary basal successful West Bengal and the TMC volition not effort to fortify the absorption confederation astatine its ain cost,” opined TMC leaders portion accusing the Congress of ‘backstabbing’ allies successful State polls. While the TMC has not formally exited the INDIA bloc, it has been gradually distancing itself from the Congress. Neither Ms. Banerjee nor her nephew and TMC general caput Abhishek Banerjee participated in Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Vote Adhikar Yatra’ successful August-September, fielding Yusuf Pathan instead.

July: AAP exits INDIA

After losing Delhi, AAP formally exited the INDIA bloc. Accusing Congress of criticising its ain confederation partners and not unifying the antithetic parties, AAP’s Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh announced his party’s exit, adding that it would contention Bihar polls connected its own.

“INDIA bloc tin determine for itself but we are not a portion of it. We fought Lok Sabha together, but since past person fought Haryana, Delhi and Punjab bypolls separately and volition combat Bihar besides separately. Sometimes they (Congress) criticise Akhilesh Yadav, Uddhav Thackeray or Mamata Banerjee. As the biggest subordinate of the bloc they (Congress) should unify all, person they done that,” asked Mr. Singh.  

August: Vote Adhikar Yatra – INDIA members articulation in

Tapping into fears of exclusion from elector lists, Rahul Gandhi led the 1,300 km-long ‘Vote Adhikar Yatra’ across 25 districts successful Bihar in August. Highlighting the issues faced by Booth Level Officers (BLOs) and Booth Level Agents (BLAs) over the looming deadline to verify voters successful the SIR process, the Yatra drew immense crowds across Bihar. Putting up a agreed beforehand against the NDA, different enactment members of the INDIA bloc walked alongside Mr. Gandhi - Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, Samajwadi Party main Akhilesh Yadav, TMC’s Yusuf Pathan. Congress’ Bihar confederation chiefs — Tejashwi Yadav (RJD), Dipankar Bhattacharya (CPI-ML), Mukesh Sahni (VIP) too joined Mr. Gandhi in spreading the connection of ‘Vote chori’, alleging that the ECI’s workout was a menace to delete voters not favouring the BJP. 

September: Opposition’s V-P campaigner loses

Fielding erstwhile Supreme Court judge, Justice B. Sudershan Reddy, as the Opposition’s associated campaigner for Vice-President, INDIA hoped to reduced the NDA’s borderline of victory. Considering the bulk the NDA holds successful some Houses, its candidate — then Maharashtra Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan was slated to win. INDIA managed to get each its MPs to vote. TMC’s Sudip Bandhopadhyay and Saugata Roy who were ill, Congress’ Imran Masood, Ve. Vaithilingam and Imran Pratapgarhi who were abroad, and accustomed absentees Kamal Haasan and Harbhajan Singh too turned up.

However, the effect exposed chinks successful INDIA’s unity arsenic Mr. Radhakrishnan won 452 votes — atleast 13 votes much than the number of NDA MPs of 439. Inspite of boasting ‘100% turnout’ with 315 MPs, Mr. Reddy fell abbreviated by 15 votes. The Opposition alleged each the 15 votes which were invalidated were its own, but did not rule out cross-voting.

November: MGB washout successful Bihar

The Mahagatbandhan (MGB) faced a historic defeat successful the Bihar polls, reduced to mere 35 seats but polling 37.6% of the votes. The NDA emerged victorious winning 202 of the 243 seats, amassing 46.5% of the votes with the BJP and JD(U) winning 89 and 85 seats respectively. NDA’s caste-based necktie ups, the Modi-Nitish popularity among women voters and its sustained run against MGB’s ‘Jungle Raj’ worked successful its favour as did the polling eve dole retired of ₹10,000 to one crore ‘Jeevika Didis’ under the authorities government’s scheme to empower women.

However, it was the misgivings successful INDIA’s run which handed NDA’s its biggest triumph successful Bihar. Internal conflicts implicit seat-sharing, delayed campaigns, RJD’s rigidity implicit fielding Tejashwi Yadav arsenic the CM face plagued the Opposition’s campaign. Voters also believed in NDA’s powerfulness to present connected its promise of ‘one crore jobs’ over MGB’s ‘one authorities occupation per family’. Women, who faced the highest deletions from electoral rolls, turned out in larger numbers than men and preferred the NDA implicit the MGB, showed The Hindu’s research.  

Post-elections, both Congress and RJD faced interior conflicts. The Lalu Prasad household saw the high-profile exit of Roshni Acharya from its ranks, months after Tej Pratap Yadav’s expulsion. On review, RJD leaders blamed mediocre summons distribution, the Jeevika Didi dole-out, wasted absorption connected SIR and Mr. Tejashwi’s political aide Sanjay Yadav’s mediocre enactment for its drubbing.

The Congress high command, connected the different hand, stuck to its assertion of ‘vote fraud’ inspite of its section leaders pointing retired run flaws like RJD’s ‘Jungle Raj baggage’, influx of ‘outsiders’ and ineffective enactment by AICC in-charge for Bihar Krishna Allavuru. INDIA ally, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) excessively was upset that it was not fixed immoderate seats to contention successful Bihar.

December

INDIA discord implicit ‘vote-chori’ claims

Rahul Gandhi has seen steady dip successful enactment implicit its claims of ‘vote fraud’ and terming the SIR arsenic a ‘voter disenfranchisement’ workout among his ain allies. While astir apical Congress leaders specified arsenic Priyanka Gandhi, Jairam Ramesh, Pawan Khera and K.C. Venugopal proceed to accuse the Election Commission of ‘murdering democracy’, INDIA allies similar NC and NCP have distanced themselves from this claim. J&K CM Mr. Omar Abdullah stated that ‘vote chori’ was raised lone by Congress and the “INDIA bloc has got thing to bash with it”, portion NCP-SP MP Supriya Sule said, “If determination is information (on ‘vote chori’), fto america person a debate”. Both Mr. Abdullah and Ms. Sule countered Mr. Gandhi’s allegations of rigged Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), stating they did not question its use.

While Opposition members staged associated protests successful Parliament implicit SIR, nary different party, isolated from Congress attended the ‘Vote Chori’ rally held successful Delhi’s Ram Lila Maidan connected December 14.

MVA disbands for section polls successful Maharashtra

The last stroke to INDIA’s Maharashtra confederation dubbed Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) came successful December in the civic polls held across the State. In the archetypal circular of local assemblage elections in Maharashtra, the MVA managed to triumph lone 52 of the 288 municipal councils and nagar panchayats which went to polls. While Congress managed to win 28 mayoral posts, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP-SP won lone 9 and 7 mayoral posts – virtually wiping retired the Thackeray and Pawar clan’s clout in semi-urban Maharashtra. 

Immediately aft the results, Congress announced it plans to spell solo for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls, portion Shivsena (UBT) main Uddhav Thackeray buried a 15-year feud with relative and MNS main Raj Thackeray. The 2 Shiv Sena offshoots bank connected the ‘Marathi manoos’ plank to regain the metropolis arsenic the conflict for their survival. Similarly, the Pawar clan called a truce aft NCP-SP joined hands with Ajit Pawar to contest jointly for the Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad civic polls. The NCP faces 2 coalitions – Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) on with its new ally MNS, and the BJP-Sena coalition.

Even the BJP-Sena are showing cracks as BJP has refused to springiness successful to Sena’s request to contest on 35-50 of the 165 seats successful the 2 municipal councils. Confusion remains over the Mahayuti in Pune arsenic Sena is likely contest the assembly polls solo, though it has allied with the BJP for Mumbai.