Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had only a 'happy new year' response to questions about the increasingly acrimonious feud between allies Aam Aadmi Party and Congress. "I have great respect for all political parties... I wish them a happy New Year and hope for their safe journey."
"Let the New Year be enjoyable for all of us," the Trinamool boss said Thursday evening.
Ms Banerjee's Trinamool Congress, the AAP led by ex-Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, and the Congress are all part of the INDIA opposition bloc that outperformed expectations in the April-June federal election to deny Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP an outright majority in Parliament.
Since then, however (and, in truth, even before the election, particularly when the Congress struggled to close seat-share deals with the AAP in Delhi and the Trinamool in Bengal) cracks in the group's unity have become apparent. One big flashpoint was the Haryana election in October.
On that occasion the Congress and AAP squabbled over sharing the state's 90 Assembly seats. No deal was reached - amid rumours of obstinacy by the former's state leaders - and the two squabbled again after a result that saw the Congress surrender a large early lead and slip to a meek defeat.
READ | "Arrogant, Overconfident": Allies Slam Congress Over Haryana Loss
The loss in Maharashtra a month later - and the BJP's landslide win - made matters worse.
The two also traded jabs last month ahead of the Delhi election due next year.
READ | AAP "Fishing In Congress' Waters" As Kejriwal Plots Delhi Re-Election Bid
But the biggest flashpoint was this morning, with the AAP throwing down a 24-hour deadline to the Congress after taking umbrage over comments by the latter's Delhi leader, Ajay Maken.
Failure to meet this deadline, the AAP warned would push it to ask other INDIA members to remove the Congress from the INDIA grouping, which would be a seismic shift in opposition politics.
Delhi Chief Minister Atishi and the party's Rajya Sabha MP, Sanjay Singh, led the charge, accusing the Congress of "doing everything to ensure the BJP benefits in the election". "Ajay Maken reads the BJP script, makes statements at the BJP's behest, and targets AAP leaders on BJP's instructions. And yesterday, he crossed all limits and called our leader Arvind Kejriwal anti-nation," Mr Singh said.
The outrage followed the Congress' Delhi unit releasing a 12-point "white paper" targeting it and the Bharatiya Janata Party for mismanagement of pollution, civic facilities and law and order in the city.
Mamata For INDIA Bloc Head?
As the AAP vs Congress war plays out, what is significant is that over the past few weeks Mamata Banerjee has emerged as a likely (and popular) choice to assume leadership of the INDIA bloc.
The Bengal leader has been backed by Nationalist Congress Party boss Sharad Pawar and his daughter Supriya Sule, as well as Rashtriya Janata Dal patriarch Lalu Prasad Yadav.
READ | Rahul Gandhi's Role Questioned? More INDIA Leaders Back Mamata
Ms Banerjee has distanced itself from any formal, or informal, claim to that post, saying, "I am thankful for the respect the leaders have shown me... I want INDIA to do well... that's what I want."
READ | "Thankful For Respect": Mamata Banerjee On INDIA Leadership Row
She has, though, spoken of what she might do in that position; "If given the opportunity, I would ensure its smooth functioning. I don't want to go outside Bengal, but I can run it from here."
The Congress' hold on the INDIA bloc appears to grow more fragile every day, with questions over its strategy to attack the BJP in Parliament adding to those about its electoral setbacks.
In the winter session of Parliament, which finished last week, other opposition parties walked away from the Congress' insistence on raising an indictment by a United States court against Adani Energy.
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