By Deepika Bhan The change in the camp of opposition in the context of the general elections which are scheduled to take place in under two years could bring up a variety of possibilities.
It’s too early to know if an octopus emerges or whether the churn is finished in scattered stars.It is unclear who can challenge Narendra Modi? is there any opposition leader who has an alternative to’sabka Vishwas’ .and the power of Hindutva?
At present, the opposition is disjointed with every faction in their own sphere creating their own webs in order to stay in the game.According to the Election Commission of India, the total number of registered parties is 2,858 eight national parties 54 state parties, as well as 2,796 non-recognised parties.(This data is from September of last year.
) At times certain of these groups come together in a front.
It has witnessed numerous coalition governments both at the Centre as well as in the states.
At the Centre the experiment was launched in 1977 with the short-lived Janata Party government headed by Morarji Desai.
There was also the National Front government, first headed by V.P.Singh and later followed by the United Front government, first headed by H.D.Deve Gowda in 1996, then the BJP-led coalition led by A.B.Vajpayee in 1997, and then the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in 1999, then followed by the Manmohan Singh-led United Progressive Front in 2004 and 2009.In 2014 the NDA under Narendra Modi was elected in 2014.
In the absence of power for a decade in the Centre and losing more states too the opposition is being thrown off the rails and is fading in its influence in the nation.
But is it capable of uniting to fight back against the BJP? That’s the million-dollar question.
After the defeat in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the opposition was unable to know how to stop the Modi wave that remained much or nothing in the 2019 elections.in the 2019 election.
Between elections election, elections in a variety of states have proved a success intermittently for the opposition.Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, and, more recently, Maharashtra are three states where the opposition has lost even though they formed governments in the beginning.
The BJP has been ahead in its political strategies prior to and following elections.The opposition, the majority of times, is in an utter state of complete chaos with inadequate strategies and not willing to confront the power of Modi or the BJP.
In order for a democratic system to be successful it is crucial to have a strong opposition that can make people question the government’s decisions and policies, and address issues in a meaningful manner.This could be a desirable situation, but the reality is that the opposition the majority of the times, has not been able to rise to the occasion.
It doesn’t matter if it’s inside Parliament or not the political arena, the general consensus is that, despite the grave problems facing the government, as well as the numerous tools to beat them with opposition, they have not been able to accomplish much, besides Modi attacking Modi.
The opposition has a number of prominent leaders and stalwarts who have their own areas of influence.
Such as Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal, M.K.Stalin in Tamil Nadu, K.Chandrashekar Rao in Telangana, Nitish Kumar in Bihar and the Left in Kerala as well as the Congress in MP and Chhattisgarh, Naveen Patnaik in Odisha, Jagan Mohan Reddy in Andhra as well as the AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal.Alongside them there’s the Gandhis and the other dynasties that include the dynasties of Sharad Pawar, Mulayam Singh, Lalu Prasad, Deve Gowda, the Abdullahs and the Muftis.The list is lengthy.
The majority of people have had a taste of energy for a lengthy time , and are now craving that pie in the Centre.
The majority of these leaders have dreams of becoming the most powerful job of the nation.
Rahul Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee, KCR, Sharad Pawar, and the most recent in the line-up, Arvind Kejriwal, all have announced their ambitions.
The candidates are numerous and this has been one of the biggest obstacles in the direction of unity in the opposition.
There isn’t any one political party in the country that can fight the Modi-led BJP.The Congress has, over the last eight years has been slipping down to the point that the other parties are hesitant away from making alliances with it.
To regain ground lost To regain ground, the Congress has been betting on its Bharat Jodo Yatra.Rahul Gandhi is looking to build his party back and save his image.
But , more than merely gaining an influence Rahul Gandhi appears to be creating other controversies that could sabotage the Yatra’s goal.
Mamata Banerjee finds herself on uncertain ground after leaders and ministers from her party were taken in in frauds.
As piles of cash seized from the offices of the chiefs of her party are highlighted in the press, her image is taken a beating.
KCR and Stalin are not able to enjoy the same amount of popularity in the rest of the country as they do in their respective states.
Their influence of influence outside of their states is small.
This leaves two namestwo – Nitish Kumar, and Arvind Kejriwal.
Kejriwal is gradually expanding his party’s presence throughout the nation.Slowly, he is trying to fill the void left by the Congress.
His zone of influence throughout the country is expanding.
His party is planning to project him as a PM candidate however, he may not be able to take on the top post in 2024, since much will depend on the performance of the AAP in Gujarat as well as Himachal Assembly polls.
If the BJP suffers a blow from the AAP and the AAP, then Kejriwal will be the leading contender from the whole opposition.
Nitish Kumar’s activism following the breakup of his connections with the BJP in getting the Opposition unification has propelled him to the national scene.
While he has been hesitant to acknowledge that he is a contender for the top job but his meetings with many others from the opposition have been sufficient to declare his aspirations public.
It is still too early to know how the opposition will be together before 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The unity of the Opposition is dependent on the Congress who insist on being the center of the coalition.It has proved to be a major factor in the efforts to unite.
With opposition leaders making individual efforts to achieve some kind of unity the political game is well underway.With just two years left, the nation is now in an election mode.
(Deepika Bhan is available to be contacted via [email protected])
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