Curiously, with just six months left for the EC notification on the next Parliament polls, the mood in the opposition camp is palpably downbeat. Its decision to hold the next round of conclave later this month in Mumbai is by itself not sufficient to create the right momentum for a huge electoral battle. First and foremost, the leaders are hemming and hawing as to who they would project as the PM nominee. Such a trend had already set in on the Indian electoral landscape, as in the US, since 2014. This is because parties today centre mostly if not exclusively around individuals. More so as most parties are family enterprises, a trend set by the Congress party from the time of Indira Gandhi. Now, every crook is subverting the cause of democracy and heading a party on the dynasty model. The big question therefore, is, what their credibility would be when they collect themselves into one heap. Prime Minister Modi has rightly zeroed in on this aspect in his first response to INDIA.
Some recent opinion polls give an edge to the BJP-led NDA, set against the new opposition political formation. There is no perceptible anti-incumbency mood. If the electorate’s mind must change, at the last minute, that could happen at the behest of the BJP or PM Modi, who has a knack to spring surprises a la Balakot. The failure of the united Opposition to floor the ruling dispensation in most respects – be it matters of development, economy, defence or national communal temperature – could signify that this alliance of oldies would be incapable of working the electorate to a frenzy and dislodge the present dispensation.
The Indian electorate, with the spread of the electronic media and net-linked mobile phones at most homes, is more aware today about the difference between local elections and a parliamentary poll. In their perception, Modi towers over others while the INDIA alliance is rudderless. Rahul Gandhi is legally handicapped. Nitish Kumar or Sharad Pawar could be a laughing stock for different reasons. Mamata Banerjee too has less clout outside Bengal. Goa put paid to her PM ambitions. Some 17 parties of the alliance have one member each in Parliament. These are virtual non-entities and parasites. They can feed only on the strength of others. The ruling parties of Odisha, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh are not with INDIA. The opposition in Maharashtra is ruptured. There has been no serious effort on the part of the Opposition to assert itself or challenge the Modi establishment. This situation is tailor-made for defeat unless someone hectors its cause with a stronger sense of resolve even at this late hour.