INDIA bloc, which came a close second to the BJP-led NDA in the general elections two years ago, is now facing the prospect of its collective stock tumbling below the 200-mark in the Lok Sabha, further nullifying any remote House challenge to the ruling establishment. If the recent exit of the 22-member DMK and three-member AAP from the INDIA bloc has already shrunk the LS strength of the Opposition alliance to 209 from the high of 234 in 2024, the prospect of a two-thirds of the 29 TMC MPs breaking away would lead to the Opposition alliance slipping below 200, and even the 190-mark, Opposition campers rued. This can considerably weaken the Opposition resistance against the government's political and legislative agenda on the House floor.While rifts in the INDIA bloc reinforce NDA's position in the Lok Sabha and can make BJP, which is stuck at 240, set its sights on achieving the solo simple majority mark, the corresponding effects in the Rajya Sabha, where too TMC MPs are in for a split, much like AAP earlier, means the NDA is itching towards a two-thirds majority. The upswing in the NDA at the cost of the INDIA bloc, some Opposition functionaries apprehend, might embolden the ruling side to further woo or poach other vulnerable sections within the bloc. It is also being watched whether exits from the INDIA bloc will lead to the emergence of a regional bloc parallel to the INDIA bloc.The changing number games in both the Houses smoothen the government's legislative path and could embolden it to push with many ambitious bills. Therefore, many feel it is just a matter of time until the government returns with the amendment bill on women's reservation and delimitation that the INDIA bloc had voted out in the last session. The Opposition bloc's inability to get its act together also provides the Centre a tactical cushion in dealing with economic issues.Many Opposition campers feel the blame game and unrest witnessed at Monday's INDIA bloc meeting was also symbolic of the growing sense of pessimism after the Opposition parties suffered post-2024 poll defeats in Haryana, Maharashtra, Delhi, Bihar, West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry amid questions on political and coalition management and cohesiveness among the allies. While these defeats numbed Congress' bounce-back attempts, it left regional allies such as TMC, RJD, DMK, SS-UBT, NCP-SP, AAP and Left in electoral tatters. This, some say, explains the regional allies' growing distrust with the Congress leadership's capacity to be a unifying coalition leader.While Kerala has emerged as the sole island of Opposition victory in recent polls, the Congress leadership's post-poll dumping of old ally DMK to tango with Vijay-led TVK in Tamil Nadu to bag a slice of power in the state government is still an experiment under watch, given TVK treading carefully between NDA and INDIA. But it has already earned the Congress leadership the allies' charge of practising coalition infidelity.The electoral setbacks also limit INDIA bloc allies' presence in power to just three states in the North - J&K, Jharkhand and Himachal Pradesh - and Karnataka, Telangana and Kerala in the South. As the bloc faces tricky internal issues, the outcome of elections next year in key states, including UP, could have a crucial bearing on the bloc's future.