Can Cong and NCP make the most of ‘discontent’?

MUMBAI: When the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) staged protests to ‘expose’ the Devendra Fadnavis-led BJP state government two years ago, they did not get an encouraging response. However, times are changing and this response has become better, according to their leaders.

Now, the question is: Are people disillusioned with the government and if yes, is the Opposition capable of using this discontent to its advantage?

Differences among top leaders of the Congress; NCP chief Sharad Pawar and his party having opposing views; and fear of action among top opposition leaders over their alleged irregularities;has put them on a tricky wicket. There is no dearth of issues if they want to target the ruling party. However, the biggest problem has been an inability to push these issues forward.

“The Opposition has it on a platter to reap the fruits of antiincumbency. But it lacks credibility when it talks about corruption cases and the agrarian crisis. We are missing an effective Opposition leader,” said political analyst Hemant Desai.

Leader of the Opposition in the legislative assembly, Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, from the Congress,said the discontent was a result of the Opposition’s efforts. “We have been exposing the government, be it on the floor of the house or public rallies. People are convinced they need to throw away the inefficient and corrupt government. The government has been using its machinery rampantly for publicity and to cover up irregularities. Every corrupt minister has been shielded. Exposing these things have helped galvanise the public against the government,” said Patil.

After the Opposition managed to settle from the rude shock of the 2014 assembly elections where they were routed, the parties could bury their differences. The Congress-ncp combine launched Sangharsh Yatras in early 2017. The rallies helped bring rural unrest to the fore and following a farmers’ strike, Fadnavis had to declare a loanwaiver package last June . The Congress is expected to hold two more phases of the Yatra. Similarly, almost all NCP leaders led by Pawar have been holding rallies around the state .

However, the Opposition has failed to maintain continuous pressure on the government over corruption charges. This helped the government complete a probe against industries minister Subhash Desai without making the findings public. The probe into allegations against housing minister Prakash Mehta is going at its own pace, while the report against former revenue minster Eknath Khadse been gathering dust in the CM’S office. “The agrarian crisis and irregularities by Khadse and Mehta were issues raised by us successfully,” said Nawab Malik, chief spokesperson, NCP. But, there is some trust deficit between the two parties with Congress leaders suspecting Pawar may ditch the alliance .

The NCP’S hobnobbing with the BJP has seen its image take a beating, according to leaders. “The decision to extend support to the BJP immediately after the 2014 elections and Pawar sharing a dais with PM Narendra Modi and finance minister Arun Jaitley, had affected our credibility,” said a senior NCP leader and former minister.