The Congress’s alliance with three regional parties in Jharkhand, announced on Thursday, fits a template that could make it enduring. The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) and the Rashtriya Janata Dal have joined hands with the Congress, which sends 14 MPs to the Lok Sabha. That was the last time Jharkhand had a rainbow alliance — it won 13 of the 14 seats, while the BJP won only one seat, Koderma. A countrywide alliance involving vote transfer from one regional party to another is impractical. A national grand alliance against the BJP will be more optics than substance.

Source: The Hindu February 08, 2019 18:22 UTC