Anil Anand
Over two dozen opposition parties supported the December 8, 2020 ‘Bharat Bandh’ call in support of the farmers protest against three newly enacted farm laws. By all means a healthy development for a democracy and given the fact that the opposition has been in tatters and wilting under the might of the BJP.
What is visible for the last few years is a ruling party with brute majority having its way unmindful of the long term consequences, and a totally disarrayed opposition getting weaker by the day. This is a phenomenon which is anti-thesis to what the democracy stands for and it has not happened for the first time in last 70 years. A strong ruling party and an equally strong opposition ideally maintain balance in a democratic set up.
So, the opposition unity or semblance of it has at last come. After supporting the bandh the opposition parties managed to close their ranks, without creating much fuss at least visibly, and met President of India to present a memorandum regarding the farm laws.
In this backdrop the question that still haunts the public mind is that whether the opposition unity has really arrived? Will their leaders truly close their ranks and put a cap on their ambitions to show a united face?
An answer in the right affirmative is still miles away. The only difference and silver-lining in this latest attempt at opposition unity is that the opposition rank has swelled with some of the NDA allies, till recently have also made a common cause on the issue of farmers’ protests on farm laws. In one way this is a healthy development towards achieving a broader opposition unity as it is also a reflection of the BJP’s increasing syndrome of ‘ekla chalo’. Since the ruling party has gained from strength to strength under the powerful leadership of Mr Narendra Modi, during the last over six years, ostensibly it is unwilling to carry the “burden” of the allies anymore.
The two of the BJP’s oldest allies, ever since the NDA was formed, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and Shiv Sena have already parted ways. More significantly the SAD under the veteran political leader, Mr Parkash Singh Badal quit the NDA on the issue of farm laws although the chasm between the two was growing for quite some time. The Shiv Sena, which quit the NDA on the issue of Maharashtra chief ministership, has since joined hands with the once arch-rival Congress, to head the state government. The others who have suddenly discovered a common cause with Congress-led opposition are Telengana Rashtriya Samithi (TRS) of Mr K Chandrashekhaer Rao, Mr Naveen Patnaik’s Biju Janata Dal, Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy’s YSR Congress, and some other smaller regional parties.
This silver-lining in the form of greater opposition unity, if at all continues beyond the farmers’ cause, will come at a cost unless the leaders of these erstwhile NDA supporting parties enter into the opposition-lock without any condition. Of course, the reference here is to the individual ambitions of their leaders as many of them visualise themselves as future Prime Ministers. There is no dearth of such leaders in the other opposition parties as well.
The one weak-link behind this silver-lining is that all these former NDA allies are joining the opposition grouping from a position of weakness. They are doing so when their on being abandoned by the “big brother” BJP.
Another silver-lining in this November-December (2020) opposition unity is the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) coming out of the self-imposed political “agyatwas” or so to say, to back the farmers agitation and the ‘bandh call’. For obvious reasons both SP chief Mr Akhilesh Yadav and BSP supremo, Miss Mayawati had been maintaining a studied silence and refrained from criticising the Narendra Modi Government. On the contrary they have been obliquely backing the Government. Since the two parties are the main force, in the opposition ranks, in the politically significant Uttar Pradesh, their silence has been a great set back to opposition unity.
On paper the scenario for opposition unity seems impressive. But it is still a long way off to turn into a reality. Personal ambitions of the leaders apart there are still many cross-connections that determine or annihilate the political interests of a particular party or its leader in their respective states or regions. The only realisation, if it dawns on them that their hegemonic pocket-boroughs or areas of political influence are fast melting under the influence of Mr Modi, can truly bring them together. Or else the BJP despite the questionable policy decisions of its Governments, at the Centre and in states, and failure to meet the aspirations of the people in relation to the promises held out, will continue to have a free run.
For example, the assembly poll bound West Bengal is a case study, though the phenomenon was not new, in terms of forging opposition unity. There are three main constituents for the opposition unity in the state namely the Left Block, Trinmool Congress and the Congress. There seems to be no chance of the three coming together to check the growing influence of the BJP which has already become the main opposition force in the state and has pulled all stops for the assembly elections.
The farmers strike or the ‘Bharat Bandh’ had created an opportunity for all three to come together. However, the battle-lines for the state assembly elections perhaps prevented them from coming together to meet a bigger challenge and performing a bigger constitutional duty of providing a strong opposition. Not to be seen as going along with the Left Block, Trinmool Congress, though wholeheartedly supporting the farmers’ agitation, decided against supporting the ‘Bharat Bandh’ to avoid sharing any space wht the Left parties on the streets of Kolkatta on the bandh day.
There is no denying the fact that regional or state leaders such as Miss Banerjee, Mr Patnaik and Mr Chandrashekhar Rao owe their political existence to localised power centres. But given the fact that they have been playing an important role at the national levels also in this era of coalitions, they cannot absolve themselves of their national duty. They must realise that only a strong opposition would be able to checkmate the powerful governments in the national interest.
The options for the ilk of these three leaders are absolutely shrinking given the fact that the BJP strategists are more strongly fathoming their own chances in the hitherto unchartered territories such as West Bengal, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Telengana Punjab, Andhra Pradesh etc. Miss Banerjee might retain her fortress through a solo effort but even that would not augur well for Trinmool Congress’s survival in future. And the same is true of other leaders.
More importantly the Congress, the only national party in the opposition with a pan-India presence, must resolve its own conundrum without any further delay. This is for the simple reason no opposition unity is possible either without Congress acting as a fulcrum or the regional players. The adversarial goalposts at the regional and state levels should be shifted to create a common goalpost to defend it from the onslaughts of the BJP.
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