Gains and losses for opposition parties
are the perceived gains or losses that can be seen in the efforts of opposition parties to put up a united contest to elect the new President and vice-president? Regardless of the outcome of these elections, are the opposition parties any closer to the goal of putting up a joint fight against the BJP in the 2019 elections?
Opposition unity efforts have come under strain on two occasions in the recent past. First, Janata Dal (United) leader and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar broke ranks with the opposition parties in pledging support for the NDA’s presidential nominee Ram Nath Kovind.
Second, despite the Congress’ boycott call, a clutch of opposition leaders, including those of the Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, Nationalist Congress Party, JD (U) and the JD(S) attended the midnight session of Parliament to mark the launch of Goods and Services Tax (GST).
The Bihar model of Opposition unity — which has been sought to be replicated at the national level — has been under considerable stress.
With Kumar’s alliance partner and RJD leader Lalu Prasad coming under the scanner of investigating agencies, speculations have been afloat on the possible collapse of the JD(U)-RJDCongress government.
There have been talks to the effect that Kumar could switch sides to the BJP to prevent the fall of the government. The electoral stream rolling at the hands of the Narendra Modipowered BJP in the 2014 polls was bad enough. But now, leaders pursuing conventional “secular parties” are confronted with the threat of being decimated from India’s political landscape because of the aggressive ideological, social and political strategies unleashed by the ruling combine. As the UP elections have shown, the top BJP leadership has been able to affect a fundamental shift in the matrix of electoral politics.
The CBI and other probe agencies have renewed the drive against Prasad and family, while other Opposition leaders, including SP leader Mulayam Singh Yadav and BSP chief Mayawati, have continued to remain under the scanner of the agency. Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee is battling the Saradha chit fund scam. “Unite or Perish” is the message that is loud and clear for satraps of regional parties, said professor C P Bhambri, eminent political scientist.
Despite the common threat perceptions, opposition parties remain torn by conflicting interests at the state level. The Congress has, so far, failed to bring regional secular groupings under a common platform. Given its weakened position, several claimants to the leadership role in the proposed secular formation have emerged.
For its part, the BJP has not been seen as lacking in efforts to prevent the Opposition leaders from uniting. For the moment, the challenges for Opposition unity are many.