By present trends the BJP led by Narendra Modi appears unstoppable. But is it really so? The notion that the Congress can defeat him would be at present laughable. There are however four months to go in preparation for the 2014 polls. Much can happen in this period. Much may have already happened outside public attention. Consider the possibilities.

Barring an unseen development AAP will form the government in Delhi this week. It will be supported by the Congress party from outside. After strident criticism of Congress the Kejriwal team will accept support from that party. To morally justify such support the referendum drama seeking public approval for the decision was enacted. An 18 point agenda was forwarded to both Congress and BJP. The BJP rubbished the communication. The Congress spokesperson justified support to the party on the ground that it agreed with several points of that agenda. Thereby both Congress and AAP laid the grounds of a principled alliance. A BJP leader alleged that it was a preplanned and unholy alliance between both parties.

Whether it is preplanned or post-planned, holy or unholy may be disputed. But the alliance is there and it would be naïve for AAP leaders to think that they can easily wriggle out of it. Already the Congress has endorsed the AAP claim that the electricity tariff can be reduced by 20 percent. All that the AAP government needs to deliver in Delhi is a performance that convinces the public that it is sincere. What needs to be considered is how the alliance will affect electoral fortunes across India for 2014.

Contrary to popular perception an alliance with the Congress may not harm but help AAP provided the correct strategy is followed. Rahul Gandhi has already declared his intention to reinvent the Congress beyond recognition. There are moves afoot to change all Congress state presidents and central ministers and entirely revamp the party leadership. That might superficially change the face of the party. It will not by any means be a reinvention. But that is where the AAP alliance might just be the game changer.

It now transpires that there could emerge a chain of NGOs across the nation to provide an all India presence to AAP. Suddenly AAP leaders have announced their decision to contest all the parliamentary seats in Gujarat, Karnataka and Mumbai. They had earlier claimed a presence in over 300 districts in India. It might have been considered hype then. Not any more.

Dinesh Waghela is in charge of AAP volunteers outside Delhi. He has already claimed to have raised AAP units in Goa and Gujarat. He has announced intention to expose BJP corruption and contest all Gujarat seats. He is a successful businessman, follower of Osho, and had once worked with Baba Ramdev. He joined AAP earlier this year. If his claims have substance how might AAP perform in the general election? It would be reckless to underestimate its potential in the cities. And if the Congress and AAP can arrive at a mutually agreed formula for cooperation, there still exists a nationwide unused Congress army of party workers across rural India who can be galvanized into action.

That is not all. If the alliance can be successfully cemented the Congress might also succeed to rope in other powerful regional parties on the same formula. AAP therefore could well act as the Congress Trojan Horse to spread its wings nationwide. Much would depend on how far Rahul Gandhi would be prepared to go to dilute his party’s present structure and image in order to attract AAP and other regional parties into a common fold. Would he, for example, be prepared to countenance investigation into at least a few corruption cases against his own party members? Would he consider a new common symbol for the parliamentary poll which is mutually agreed to by all the alliance partners? The Congress has already changed its party symbol thrice. A fourth time will not be a disaster. If this were done the party would retain its recognition as a national party on the strength of its presence in the requisite number of minimum states.

Likewise the regional parties would retain recognition as state parties because they would retain their current state symbols. That would include the AAP which is now a recognized state party in Delhi with the broom as its symbol. In other words the Indian National Congress should contest the 2014 general election as the Indian Federal Congress. All this to happen seems unlikely of course. But is it impossible given the desperate state of the Congress? The potential for a formidable challenge to the Narendra Modi-led BJP to emerge under an AAP-Congress alliance should not therefore be cavalierly dismissed. Much can happen in four months. India might yet witness a keen contest in 2014.