It’s a debatable point whether the Opposition INDIA bloc has managed to draw a new bout of energy from the Loktantra Bachao rally at Ramlila Grounds in the national capital on Sunday. The presence and absence of several top opposition figures at the rally were equally noted. What could have been a full-throated war cry against the Modi dispensation, against the backdrop of the ‘emergency-like’ situation prevailing in the state vis-a-vis a blatant muzzling of opposition voices, failed to make a major impact. The rally was participated on record by 28 opposition parties – a formidable figure– but several top opposition figures were missing on the dais. The Congress fielded Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge even as the party stressed that the rally was not person-centric (meaning, Kejriwal), but had the wider goal of protecting democracy and the Constitution, both being “under threat.” Opposition leaders like Uddhav Thackeray, Sharad Pawar, Akhilesh Yadav and Tejashwi Yadav were present but prominence went to Sunitha Kejriwal, wife of the arrested chief minister. Her reading of a letter from Arvind Kejriwal listing six promises to the nation, including free electricity to the poor, by itself might not help whip up the national mood also as the AAP has no reach in most states. Overall, the meeting failed to make an impact.
A question posed by Kejriwal, that “God has gifted everything to India. Yet, why are we lagging behind? Why are we illiterate,” made eminent sense. But politics and elections are, in a way, senseless games. These require more punch to take matters forward. Having been accused in the Delhi Liquor Scam, Kejriwal lost a part of his halo that he had painstakingly built over the years. What might also raise eyebrows is the sudden projection of his wife as his alter ego, even as she stayed all along on the sidelines of politics and power. There is merit in the accusation that Kerjiwal sought to perform a Lalu Prasad in Delhi, a la the installation of Rabri Devi as CM in Bihar years ago when Lalu was first jailed in the cattle feed scam. This, somehow, is typical of politics across states, evident also in the presence of several dynasties on the dais at Ramlila Maidan. It would appear that politics today cannot be divorced from dynasties, with a noticeable exception in the BJP ranks, but there too the “son rise” as in Karnataka in the form of Basavraj Bommai which was a notable exception. The Opposition push against the BJP this time might be handicapped by many constraints like this. This is time for the INDIA bloc to inspire confidence in the people. Any mis-step would only undercut their chances of a better performance at the hustings.
