The Opposition, still licking the wounds of the Hindi-belt drubbing in the assembly polls, is failing to present a sense of unity or coherence in their utterances even as the Lok Sabha polls are just a call away. Lack of unity in principal matters was all too evident as they met in Delhi and held the fourth round of confabulations. Even as leaders of 28 parties sat together, unanimity was the first casualty. This was only to be expected from a hotch-potch of conflicting interests. Where they agree is only on the need for ousting Narendra Modi and the BJP from power. Even on the issue of use of EVMs, the difference between the leaders was glaring.
The main architect of the INDIA alliance, Nitish Kumar, got a hit below the belt at the Delhi meeting as his West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal proposed the name of Mallikarjun Kharge as the PM choice to take on Modi and the BJP at the 2024 polls. Kharge was sensible enough to excuse himself by saying such matters could be decided later – which is reflective of the Congress stand all along. Kharge also knows well that, in the end, he could be made a scapegoat; more so in a scenario where the chances of the opposition alliance winning the polls are unsure. Banerjee obviously killed two birds with one stone. She kept Rahul Gandhi and Nitish Kumar out of this picture. Her proposal to field Priyanka Gandhi for Varanasi to ‘neutralize’ the Modi aura over the constituency too was met with skepticism. There was more disagreement and less agreement.
The first and foremost requirement for the Opposition at this juncture is to present a picture of unity and a sense of purpose. Instead, they are ‘confusion worse confounded’. Obviously, their spirits are not high because of the let-down the Opposition faced in the assembly polls even as the Congress party saved its face to a small extent by registering an unexpected win in Telangana. The Opposition is also not able to catch Modi on the wrong foot in the decisive run-up to the parliament polls. Periodic conclaves here and there would not serve much of a purpose. Worse, there is no agreement among these parties about putting up common candidates in several states though they had identified such a possibility in over 400 constituencies some time ago. Rather, they would fight each other in several states including West Bengal, where the CPI-M would fight TMC and the BJP. Though the reds are a fading force there, they would not break bread with Banerjee. As the adage goes, “Divided we stand, united we fall.”
