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COLUMN

Has Opposition got

the winning formula?

NEWS & Rival parties now seem better geared to face Prime Minister
Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah’s winning
VIEWS combination than it was over previous years

BHARAT HITESHI
fter being able to form gov- As debate over it intensifies, it would
Hiteshi is an ernments in Maharashtra be interesting to see how the fractured
independent journalist- and Jharkhand, the Opposi- Opposition becomes the face of the peo-
turned-author and a tion has almost turned tables ple’s movement underway against the
political commentator. A for the ruling Bharatiya Janta CAA and NRC. Political analysts say that
The views expressed Party over the Citizenship Amendment the BJP had been winning election after
are his own Act. Has Opposition got the winning election on the national narrative, be it
formula? promise of “achhe din” in 2014 elections
The Opposition finally seems to have and “national security” in 2019.
got the ammunition to effectively take The Opposition has now got the right
on BJP’s ‘Jori No.1’ — Prime Minister narrative and the BJP has been pushed
Narendra Modi and Home Minister to defend the policy decisions. The ruling
Amit Shah. The two leaders, who looked party has asked its cadre to reach out to
almost invincible till recently, now sud- three crore families to explain CAA. The
denly seem vulnerable. moot question remains whether the Op-
When Congress leader and for- position would be able to build up an anti
mer Home Minister, P Chidambaram BJP sentiment and coin a suitable slogan
tweeted, “Dented in Haryana, Denied in to hit out at the ruling party.
Maharashtra, Defeated in Jharkhand”, it Political analysts say that the current
was clear that the Opposition seemingly protests are like a repeat of larger public
has got the ammo that it was looking sentiment that was seen build up around
for. And it would not have come for the Anna Hazare anti-corruption move-
Opposition at a better time as the main ment in 2011 during the UPA-II. The Anna
Opposition party Congress recently Hazare led movement with the Arvind
marked its 135th Foundation Day with Kejriwal and Kiran Bedi like faces, had
“Save Constitution-Save India rallies”. proved the undoing of Congress led UPA
The Opposition now seems better in 2014 general elections. This had be-
geared to face Prime Minister Narendra come a mass movement and spontaneity
Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah’s was the hallmark of the agitation against
winning combination than it was over the Congress government then.
previous years. Is it fluke or a genuine The series of corruption cases and
winning formula? scams that surfaced in media during
Are the wide spread protests against those days coupled with governance pa-
the Citizenship Amendment Act and ralysis proved too difficult for then ruling
National Register of Citizens pointers to UPA to counter. The Opposition believes
the reality that Opposition has been able that the current agitation and different
to cover the lost ground that it conceded parties coming together would be akin
to the BJP during the 2014 and 2019 Lok to the mass movement against UPA. The
Sabha elections? Has the Opposition difference this time is that then the tar-
finally found the narrative it had long get was UPA and now it would be BJP. It
been looking after the ruling BJP deci- is to be seen if the Opposition optimism
mated it in State after State and in two will stay and prove the test of time.
general elections? Immediately, it seems that the Op-

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