First among regional netas, but Mamata needs a vision

Since winning the recent Assembly election in West Bengal handsomely, and giving a BJP frontally led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah a licking, chief minister Mamata Banerjee is on fire. She suddenly seems the most important leader of a regional party in a country where regional parties have gained considerable salience.

This has occurred at a time when the Congress, out of which several of these parties emerged, has declined, not least due to the politics played by regional parties themselves. They had once thought that it was all right to befriend the BJP to bring down the Congress. And now there is a historical irony. Seven years of BJP governance under its present leadership is bringing forth calls of Opposition unity to take on the BJP in united fashion in the Lok Sabha election of 2024.

Achieving Opposition unity in India is one of the most difficult political objectives to achieve. Jayaprakash Narayan’s charisma did bring into being the Janata Party, but this platform fell in a heap not long after. There is no JP today. What is going to be the role of the present Congress in the eyes of the regional parties? Perhaps this question can be better answered after the state polls in several states, including the politically significant Uttar Pradesh, early next year.

If most non-BJP parties do not combine forces, defeating the BJP led by Mr Modi could be extremely challenging unless the ruling party faces internal rifts. Government policies, which have not adequately addressed the fight against Covid and the economic distress leading from it, have alienated many social constituencies, and this appears to be making the BJP sections anxious. But it is as yet early to know how political dynamics might play out in the foreseeable future.

In this context it is to be seen how much of a catalyst the West Bengal CM’s recent visit to the national capital turns out to be in clarifying minds amongst the principal Opposition parties. For the first time in many years, Ms Banerjee’s meeting with Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi and senior party leader Rahul Gandhi appears to have come off exceedingly well. In fact, the Congress appears to have prepared for it by changing its state party chief in West Bengal.

Even if the question of leadership of a prospective Opposition front will be a tricky issue (as always in the past), it is not a bad idea if leaders of various regional parties begin to brainstorm early enough in the day. This is a process that has its own complications and is known to take time. If Ms Banerjee’s New Delhi visit can set that in train, the CM’s time in the national capital would have served a certain purpose. The reaction of the various “secular” parties to Ms Banerjee’s initiative is not yet known and will be interesting to watch.

For now, the CM’s Delhi foray has achieved the projection of her party and her personality on the national stage. In fact, she prepared for it assiduously when she ensured that her Shahid Divas address in Kolkata recently was relayed in many state capitals for the benefit of Opposition parties. At a press conference in Delhi, she indicated that she might not be averse to leading an anti-BJP front, depending on circumstances. It may be premature to make any open declaration in that regard by any non-BJP party.

Achieving Opposition unity in India is one of the most difficult political objectives to achieve. Jayaprakash Narayan’s charisma did bring into being the Janata Party, but this platform fell in a heap not long after.