2 min readNew DelhiApr 20, 2026 05:20 AM IST
ELECTIONS IN Kerala may be over, but it appears that INDIA bloc allies are finding it hard to move past the bitterness that surfaced during the campaign. At a meeting called by Rajya Sabha Chairman C P Radhakrishnan after the House was adjourned sine die on Saturday, Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge was seen thanking CPI(M) floor leader John Brittas for his party’s support in the Lok Sabha vote on the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026. In response, Brittas thanked Kharge but gently reminded him that he is “nice” to his party in Delhi, but was “nasty” in Kerala — an indirect reference to the acrimony between the two parties during the recent elections. Looking at Sonia Gandhi, he said she was sweet and cordial towards other Opposition leaders. Incidentally, Gandhi did not campaign in Kerala. Amid the laughter, the Chairman stepped in to rescue Kharge, saying, “Both of you fight in Kerala — there’s nothing new in it.”
Standing Up
OPPOSITION LEADERS were all praise for Samajwadi Party for turning up with all its 37 MPs for the vote on the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, which was defeated in Lok Sabha on Friday. After the House was adjourned, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra too walked up to SP MP Dimple Yadav to thank her party. Congress leaders pointed out that the SP took a risk by remaining with the Opposition because UP is considered to be a major beneficiary of the delimitation exercise. Also, the BJP leadership apparently made attempts to convince the SP leadership to support the government’s move.
The Warmth
On THE last day of the special sitting of the House on Saturday, JDU’s Sanjay Kumar Jha posted on social media his photograph with Opposition MPs such as AAP’s Sanjay Singh and Shiv Sena UBT’s Priyanka Chaturvedi outside Makar Dwar of Parliament. “Differences will always remain, as they should. But the ability to engage with warmth and respect is what truly defines us. That spirit is what makes India so special,” he posted.
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