Opposition politics in India have come to resemble those celebrated marriages of film stars: the initial blaze of publicity, the enormous public attention, the fervent oaths of fealty, then the brief honeymoon, when past recriminations are forgotten, areas of commonality are discovered, and each party tries to convince a credulous media and a skeptical public that this time around it can work. And through it all (to push the metaphor a little further) the "other woman"—she who wrecked the previous marriage—looks on with a quiet smile.