In a rare moment of unity, the opposition parties came together to defeat The Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill in a Special Parliamentary Session on April 17, 2026. Soon after, the four state assembly elections in Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal threw up expected results in three, but not in the fourth. In Assam, communal and political gerrymandering by the Himanta Biswa Sarma administration and the Election Commission India (ECI) led to a massive victory for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP); in West Bengal, an even more massive BJP victory was engineered by the ECI’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and the Opposition parties’ failure to jointly combat it on the ground through seat-sharing agreements.Kerala’s results were no surprise for a different reason: they returned to the old pattern of alternating Left Democratic Front (LDF) and United Democratic Front (UDF) administrations. Unlike Assam and West Bengal, Kerala appears to have had a reasonably free and fair election.Tamil Nadu’s results were a surprise. The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) ran a well-performing administration and was expected to win a second term until the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) came along. In the runup to the election, it became clear that the TVK was a serious contender. The outcome was a hung house in which the governor intervened to manipulate government formation by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) but was thwarted by smaller parties offering the TVK support. The Congress was the first and its speed was ill-taken by the DMK, with whom the Congress had jointly contested.Illustration: Pariplab Chakraborty.The impact of the DMK’s bitterness, supported by Akhilesh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party (SP), on the INDIA alliance could be considerable. DMK chief Stalin was a pillar of the alliance, while other parties wavered and some – the Trinamool Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party – walked out.Truth to tell, the alliance has been mainly dysfunctional, absent more often than present. This is why its unity against the Constitutional amendment was so notable. It showed what the Opposition could do when it came together and raised hope of further joint action at a time when we are rapidly losing each vestige of democracy.The threat that the Constitutional amendment embodied – an arbitrary expansion of Parliament that would make deliberation virtually impossible given weight of numbers, wholescale communal and political gerrymandering through delimitation – might have been averted for now but is bound to recur when the ongoing Census’ results are published, given that the Atal Bihari Vajpayee administration’s freeze on seat expansion ends this year.It may even recur earlier. What if the new BJP administration in West Bengal decides to do an Assam-type delimitation there? Is the thought inconceivable? In Assam, the patently biased delimitation was precursored by a ‘citizens’ register’, akin to the SIR, which disenfranchised tens of thousands. In Bengal, the SIR has already struck a whopping nine million off the rolls. With an overwhelming majority in the assembly, the Suvendu Adhikari administration might well toy with doing a Biswa Sarma.Meanwhile, West Bengal’s SIR continues to be challenged in the Supreme Court, which has systematically failed to give relief. The One Nation-One Election (ONOE) threat looms. Having got the Kovind Committee to rubber stamp this proposal, the Modi administration will soon bring legislation to turn it into law. While the Opposition is clear about its danger, infinitely multiplied when in tandem with SIR and delimitation, it is yet to formulate a joint campaign against the three.More importantly, it has failed to convey a united position on what it does stand for. Three years have passed since the INDIA alliance was formed. Broadly, it pledged to protect Constitutional institutions, work for social justice and inclusivity, address economic grievances and strengthen federal relations. But it has yet to formulate a joint strategy towards these goals, much less work together on any of them. Can it afford to wait any longer?The corruption of elections is the latest in a series of steps to undermine India’s democracy, from the criminalisation of dissent and personal choice to the weakening of farmers’ and labour rights, the suppression of Parliamentary debate, the diversion of State taxes by Union cesses, the appointment of governors who impede elected administrations, and the misuse of Union oversight institutions and police forces against State police and regional parties. When we are forced to grapple with the disenfranchisement of voters, we have hit rock bottom.Leading a campaign on economic governance and human developmentThus far, the Opposition has failed to capitalise on its assets. Surprisingly so, given the stalwarts that are part of the INDIA alliance. It includes three chief ministers of currently high-performing states – Karnataka, Kerala and Telangana – and several former chief ministers whose states ranked high on economic and human development during their tenure. Between them, they could surely lead a campaign on economic governance and human development.Similarly, it includes in its broader fold of legislators a far larger number of constitutional experts, former administrators and human rights advocates than the ruling BJP does; together they could identify essential actions to begin to restore the autonomy of Constitutional institutions.On federalism, the DMK has been a staunch defender of India’s perpetually challenged federal compact. In February 2026, shortly before the assembly election, the Stalin administration published a comprehensive new report on Union-State relations. The DMK is ideally placed to craft and lead an INDIA campaign highlighting the measures that must be taken to defend, anchor and deepen the federal nature of the Indian Union.Similarly, Mamata Banerjee’s return to the INDIA alliance promises a new boost. Her fearlessness may be an intangible asset, but she could infuse much-needed dynamism into the alliance, helping it to create a campaigning wing. In the context of women’s reservation, it is worth noting that her party has returned more women to Parliament than any other party; she might offer pointers to other alliance parties on how to grow support for and from women.Akhilesh Yadav, whose Samajwadi Party has been targeted by the BJP and will be further targeted as the UP elections approach, has thus far performed more as a critic; yet, with relative youth, he could be a useful Sherpa for the alliance. Supriya Sule, of the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) (NCP-SP), is known in Maharashtra for her openness to civil society groups. Farooq Abdullah, of the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference, is popular with all the alliance members; he is a uniter.The list could go on. In the current situation, where the Opposition faces existential threats from the ruling party and Union administration, the first remedy is for the INDIA alliance to recognise its own assets and turn them into formidable ones. Here’s hoping it will do so.Radha Kumar’s latest book is The Republic Relearnt: Renewing India’s Democracy, 1947-2024 (Penguin Random House).This piece was first published on The India Cable – a premium newsletter from The Wire – and has been updated and republished here. To subscribe to The India Cable, click here.