In a clear
betrayal to the people of the country, opposition block INDIA which was formed
amidst much fanfare and somehow managed to stall BJP’s juggernaut in the
general elections, has started disintegrating ignoring the promise of staying
united in their fight against the ruling party. In the crucial Delhi Assembly
elections, which has remained out of bounds of BJP for more than two and a half
decades, two INDIA constituents the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) are
fighting against each other even after fighting the general elections together.
Similarly, the opposition alliance in Maharashtra has also crumbled as the Shiv
Sena has already decided to go alone in the forthcoming local body polls in the
state. Arguably, all these decisions will put BJP in an advantageous position
as electoral arithmetic in multi-cornered contests always favour the party
which is in power.
Refusal to
understand the basics of electoral politics is one of the main reasons that is
hurting the opposition parties. Over the years, BJP has managed to create a
dedicated vote bank based on the planks of nationalism and good governance,
other political parties opposing BJP are still relying on the votes of the
marginal sections of the society and the minorities. As a result, while BJP has
managed to consolidate its support base, the opposition parties are virtually
trying to make a dent in each other’s vote back for survival. For example, it
is learnt that after his return from year-end foreign sojourn, Rahul Gandhi
will campaign in the minority-dominated areas in Delhi to seek support for
party candidates, despite knowing the fact that AAP too is also banking heavily
on minority votes to defeat BJP. In such a scenario it would have been ideal if
these two parties had decided to work in cohesion to make inroads in BJP’s vote
bank.
As a matter of
fact, these parties are indulging in a game of political one-upmanship against
their own allies. None of them are willing to provide space to others in a
gesture to cement the ties and make INDIA a formidable opposition block.Rather, they are trying to eat into each
other’s support base without realizing the folly of such acts. The big brother
attitude prevailing within the INDIA ranks has already gifted a couple of
states to BJP barring Jharkhand, where assembly elections were held after the
2024 general elections, where the opposition parties somehow or other managed
to stitch a coalition. Haryana is the best example of such high handedness
where BJP romped home easily taking advantage of split in opposition votes.
Thus, it is time
now for all the constituents of INDIA to make the alliance formidable, instead
of trying to hoodwink others. By virtue of being the biggest constituent, the
Congress should initiate dialogue with other regional parties rather than
bargaining for a couple of more seats or ministerial berths. On the other hand,
the regional parties should also extend a helping hand towards the Congress for
the sake of countering BJP. By quarrelling against each other, they will only
distance themselves from their goals.
