The INDIA alliance demonstrated the chinks in their armour when Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra concluded at the Shivaji Park in Mumbai. Several prominent opposition figures were “missing” at the mega rally, which, by extension, was also conceived as the launch pad for their collective electoral offensive against the ruling NDA. This was a critical juncture as the Election Commission has just announced the schedule for the parliament elections that will throw up a verdict in the next ten weeks. The count-down for the verdict has begun. This was the time the opposition unity should have been demonstrated in full force before the nation. It did not happen that way. Most of the opposition figures present at the rally, along with Yatra captain Rahul Gandhi who himself wore a jaded look, were ‘powerless’ old-timers – the likes of Farooq Abdullah or Sharad Pawar. Prominent absentees from the opposition were Akhilesh Yadav from the key battleground state of Uttar Pradesh, the charismatic Arvind Kejriwal who was tied with the ED summons, and the Left leaders. A permanent fixture at the INDIA meetings from its start, the Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, is now in the rival camp. This was partly compensated by the presence of RJD leader and Bihar’s deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav.
In fact, the opposition unity is far from a reality even at this late hour. The neutralist Naveen Patnaik in Odisha has sided with the BJP, as did Nitish Kumar. Chandrababu Naidu took his Telugu Desam back to the NDA and West Bengal’s Mamata Banerjee is not being accommodative with the rest of the national opposition. The presence of Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin at the rally came as some relief to the opposition alliance. Uddhav Thackeray’s participation was only to be expected. Mayawati was not seen around just as the Left leadership stayed away. The BRS of Telangana and YSRC of Andhra Pradesh, both battling the BJP in their states, too are conspicuous by their absence at the INDIA platforms.
The mega rally held in Mumbai at the conclusion of the Nyay Yatra was inspiring to the Congress leadership. Yet, the absence of several fraternal opposition figures came as a dampener. Here was a golden opportunity for the Opposition to show its collective might. It, however, failed to click. The immediate inference could be that the BJP can have a cakewalk for the third time in succession and the Modi bandwagon will smile its way back to power. But, the mood of the nation would be known only after the manifestoes are released and the campaign starts.
