IT came after much cogitation, a lot of pre-nuptial bargaining and at least one false start. But the muhurat finally came on June 23, when all of 32 leaders from 15 parties—former and current chief ministers among them—converged on Patna. They had one common mission: dislodging the Narendra Modi-led BJP government at the Centre in the 2024 general election. Convened by Bihar chief minister and JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar, its stated objective was to “save Indian democracy” from Modi’s “fascist, autocratic regime”. West Bengal CM and Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee took the mic to issue a dire warning: “If the BJP wins the next [Lok Sabha] election, India may no longer exist in the future…there will be no more elections.”
But this gathering—the first national alliance-building exercise against the ruling BJP in the past nine years—is not just aimed at saving Indian democracy. It’s also triggered by an existential crisis, the beginnings of which can be traced back to March 24, when 14 parties moved the Supreme Court against the “indiscriminate use of
