‘Who leads Opposition front immaterial’
came back as soon as it saw that the old Janata Dal is one, with Congress on its side. Our fragmentation led to our supporters moving away. But they have now understood very clearly that the BJP is not their party. I can guarantee you that they will return as soon as fragmentation diminishes.
See, despite our fragmentation, non-bjp parties got 69% votes last time. Assume that 15% of that vote is minority vote, including Muslims, Christians and others. That still leaves the Opposition with 54% Hindu votes; it includes caste Hindus, backward classes, Dalits, and Adivasis. Assume all 31% of the BJP votes are Hindu votes. So the Opposition still got 23% more Hindu votes than the BJP. It is a misconception that Hindus are with them. There is no one Hindu. It is a social order. They will fail in their attempts to unite it. This is a big lie. Caste is an institution that goes back thousands of years. It is a reality, a reality recognised by the Constitution. To blame us for it is deeply unjust. The constitution has provisions for the disadvantaged. What the BJP and RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) go around doing is inter-dining. But the institution of marriage keeps the caste system alive. The caste system is in this country’s soil. Resolving it is a long-term issue. It is healed. See what happened in (bypolls in) Ajmer, Alwar, Gorakhpur, Phulpur, Araria. In Opposition unity, people from different communities can see their faces.