Ten months remain for the general elections in India to be held next May, and it can be said that timelines are being consolidated. INDIA was established last week in capital letters at the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance, an acronym for the name of the alliance of 26 opposition groups. Coincidence, of course, is not accidental, but rather sought after, although it may be more effective for the foreigner (the country’s endonym is “Bharat” in one variant or another).

In any case, it is clear that the opposition does not want to give the flag of nationalism exclusively to the whole of the NDA-National Democratic Alliance (currently formed by tens and a half of parties) formed by Modi BJP-Bcarniya Party and its environment. And that this attempt at pairing would also be reflected in high-value international dossiers (relations with Russia, tensions with China, Indo-Pacific sheets…).

However, the main novelty that INDIA has shown for the time being is that Rahul Gandhi, despite being the main side of the newly created coalition, has announced that, in the event of winning elections, he will not try to take over as Prime Minister. The leader of the National Congress in India and the son of Rahul, Sonia and Rajiv, the current referent of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty, has been incapacitated for any political office since March, by a ruling that provoked a strong controversy and is not yet fully resolved.

This tactical movement of the fragile discourages in part the disenchantment that Modi has sought to show regarding the new coalition. Despite the favourable wind of the polls, Modi has just received painful beatings in the elections of the states of Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh, and what seemed undeniable a year ago, which was to easily achieve its third mandate in 2024, is today more uncertain. The disturbances in Manipur, the increase in life, etc., are hooking on what seems to be gaining, as well as benefiting from international storms.

And he will surely remember how Modi BJP, against the then hegemonic Congress, achieved his hegemony that today seems so solid: Not Congress, leading a confounding table coalition that had no other agreement.

To tell the whole truth, however, we must remember that Modi and BJP have a resource that Congress has never had: Sangh Parivar and his organization RSS. The basis of a “long agenda” that Modi uses, which goes well beyond next year’s elections.

Something to remember when talking about “the greatest democracy in the world.”