While the Opposition is planning its second meeting in Bengaluru to push for unity of the non-BJP parties, what they lack is a central issue or a set of issues to whip up the public mood against the BJP or the Modi government. Granted that the PM has given them one on a platter in the form of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), the Opposition only sniffed around and would not catch the bait. It faces several constraints. One, the BJP’s mischievous intention of uniting the Hindus could work to the Opposition’s disadvantage; two, the Opposition is not united in opposing the UCC for the same reason that they cannot altogether ignore the majority community’s sentiments; three, as large segments of the minorities do not vote anyway for the BJP, the UCC by itself would not make a difference to the existing electoral landscape in ways as to harm the saffron party. The BJP and Modi understand as much. Hence there is the likelihood of the UCC bill being introduced in the coming session(s) of parliament.
The Opposition also faces a problem of fielding a leader matching the wit and stature of Prime Minister Modi. The nearest one can think of is Rahul Gandhi, but he has been “fixed” through the legal mechanism. The regional satraps angling for the PM post have a serious problem. They have no fan-following in states outside their territory. Even Mamata Banerjee cannot fancy attracting a sizable crowd outside her state, should she address a public meeting on her own. It is here that the Congress and Rahul Gandhi tower over them. They have a pan-India appeal reaching down to the farthest village. Quite understandably, the Opposition conclaves want to skirt the principal issue of who should stand in the front and lead them. It is safe to assume that if they win a majority, the dog-fight for the PM post would begin then and there.
The South is where the BJP is the weakest. The five states send about 130 members to the Lok Sabha. Now that the party has lost Karnataka too, no magic can help it to win a sizable number of seats from the South. Hence the BJP is shifting its strategy there. That would involve pinning hopes on a friendly Jagan Mohan Reddy in Andhra Pradesh and softening its campaigns against K Chandrashekar Rao in Telangana for future support. Rao might be game too as he dreads the possibility of an arrest of his daughter, former MP Kavitha, in the Delhi liquor scam and of sending her straight to Tihar Jail. To save skin, KCR is developing cold feet over his PM ambitions.
