The BJP’s upbeat mood is in no way its insurance for the immediate future: read 2024 elections. The Opposition can halt its speed by coming together and adding to its kitty as many seats as possible. BY KUMKUM CHADHA
G 20 over; India’s robotic Moon landing accomplished; its Sun mission launched; Ram Mandir completed; White paper done; Black paper released; Congress blackened; Nehru defamed; Prime Minister Modi praised; BJP upbeat; the Opposition scrambling and the INDIA alliance desperate to set its house in order.
This, as of now, is the sum total of the political scenario in India which is poised to face a general election in less than 100 days this year.
Pitched in this battle are the Congress and the BJP with of course the regional parties and other small and minor players thrown in.
But the giants first, irrespective whether the Congress fits the “giant” description. As of now, the BJP certainly does.
Be it hype or ground reality, the BJP seems set to take on the electoral challenge better than most parties put together.
The reasons are many: beginning with the welfare projects launched by the Narendra Modi government; a step-up of India’s image on the world stage and aspirational Indians looking to Prime Minister Modi to drive India’s growth.
These are gains the BJP is going to drumbeat and of course cash in on even while it attempts to brush under the carpet the harsh reality of communalism and divisiveness that has been unleashed by the ruling dispensation. Add to this, the growing frustration among the unemployed and price rise which critics call “dismal”.
These were possible challenges that the saffron party would have found difficult to handle had God not come to its rescue. Literally.
Yes God, in this case, Lord Ram, seems to have descended on Earth. In one sense, he actually did on January 22 when the doors of the temple were thrown open in Ayodhya. The chants of Ram Lalla or child god returning homerent the air even as devotees thronged the temple that the VHP-RSS-BJP led by Prime Minister Modi unveiled and gifted to India.
Consequently, the BJP seems all set to package and fire its well stacked ammunition, training its guns at a weak, struggling and disjointed Opposition.
Today, when one talks of an Opposition in the Indian context, it is in two ways: one, different parties struggling to survive and another an amalgam coming together to take on the BJP.
As things stand, one does not cancel the other but as it turns out, nor does it complement. As of now the stakeholders are not on the same page, to put it mildly. For the BJP, this is god sent and hence it is doing what it takes, to stoke the fire.
However much its detractors may wish otherwise, the truth is that the BJP is in a strong position. The regional players are not strong enough to pose a challenge nationally.
Equally, it is true that the coming together of relevant parties could check the saffron party in its tracks.
It is therefore not without reason that when the INDIA alliance was formed, it made the BJP sit up.
Of course, the coming together of 26 parties was a worry but what was more unnerving was the nomenclature itself. In fact, naming the alliance INDIA was nothing short of a masterstroke. To position itself as a conglomerate which is representative of the country rather than a political party which propagates divisive politics did make the BJP nervous.
It sensed that the nomenclature had the potential of being synonymous with INDIA the nation and not a political party jostling for space: a SAVE INDIA to check those who had set out to destroy its ethos. Read the Opposition versus BJP.
True to its grain, the BJP lost no time in trying to regain the initiative. At the G-20 summit, it pushed Bharat to replace India.
For the first time, the invites sent out to Heads of State from the President of India read President of Bharat. Even Prime Minister Modi’s name card on the high-table read Prime Minister of Bharat instead of the customary Prime Minister of India.
With the I.N.D.I.A alliance starting off as well as it did, it had the potential to effectively take on the BJP. But it frittered the gains.
For starters, it dithered and lost the first mover advantage. The cracks started showing and the public spat was out in the open. The BJP did the expected: moved in swiftly, cashed in on discord, won some and wooed the rest. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar walking out of the alliance to join hands with the BJP was nothing short of a coup.
That is one part of the story. Equally crucial is the second; which is about alliance partners speaking in different voices: AAP has declared that it will go alone while the Samajwadi Party has its own angst. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has kind of raised a banner of revolt by saying that the Congress will not even win 40 seats in the forthcoming elections.
Yet, those desperate to make the INDIA alliance work, are putting up a brave front, hoping against hope that things will ultimately work-out. And those who have left, are spewing venom.
Interestingly there are two targets: one within and one outside: the outside enemy is unmistakably the BJP which the Opposition wants to oust.
The other is within: the Congress.
Alliance partners are peeved at the Congress’s big brother attitude which is devoid of a give and take spirit. If Banerjee decided to go alone in West Bengal, it can be attributed to Congress’ stubbornness in demanding seats it cannot even imagine to win in West Bengal. Having said that, Banerjee has, reportedly, not downed the shutters for a national alliance: at least not yet.
This may be music to some ears except it is one which keeps losing its rhythm off and on.
The other issue is about the Congress kind of “mishandling” the alliance, rather not handling it at all, so to speak. If reports are anything to go by, partners including the JD(U), its erstwhile partner, was peeved at meetings not taking place despite reminders. A senior leader is on record stating that Nitish Kumar had to “coax” Mrs Sonia Gandhi for deliberations.
Surely, an alibi for the JD(U) given that its reasons for exiting are well known, yet the “ho jayega” and “chalta hai” attitude of the Congress made its partners feel that the Congress is not serious about making things work.
Add to this, Rahul Gandhi launched the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra and projected it as a solo show. This was a clear message that the Congress would prefer a piecemeal approach: to go solo when it wants and unite only if and when necessary.
Irrespective, the Opposition cannot afford to lose time or the opportunity. The BJP is on an all- time high but its upbeat mood is in no way its insurance for the immediate future: read 2024 elections.
As of now, its win may be certain but the Opposition can halt its speed by coming together and adding to its kitty as many seats as possible. And if it squanders this opportunity then it has only itself to blame. Therefore, to borrow a popular phrase: Its Time begins Now.
