Presidential Elections: Opposition Must Put Petty Squabbles Aside

Presidential elections will give a glimpse of what we can expect in 2019. Can the Opposition gets its act together? (Photo: PTI)

As the Presidential election looms on the horizon, Opposition parties are scrambling to unite. While political leaders can be seen meeting each other and holding talks, they have yet to announce a joint candidate.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi called a meeting in May, which Bihar CM and JD(U) President Nitish Kumar decided to skip, causing quite a stir. He instead chose to have lunch with the Prime Minister. Though he said later that the two did not discuss politics over the meal.

He added that he had said all he wanted to say to Opposition parties on the subject. All eyes are now on Lalu Prasad Yadav’s upcoming rally, the invitations for which have already been sent to various leaders.

The subject of Opposition unity has been raised after quite a long time. The current chatter is reminiscent of the days when Congress was in power and the other parties were holding meetings to form strategies to counter it.

But times have changed, and how. Congress is now not only on the other side of the table, it’s also one of the weakest members within the group. The ‘weak’ tag which once belonged to the BJP now plagues the Congress. BJP is in power at the Centre and is rapidly acquiring it in surrounding states. Pundits are already claiming that no party is strong enough to defeat BJP in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in 2019.

In 2017, BJP has cemented its reputation as a political juggernaut. The only way to take it down is if Opposition works together. Congress is no longer a shorthand for massive political power; the turf is BJP’s now. The result is an anti-BJP wave throughout the political spectrum.

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Sonia Gandhi, Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad Yadav. (Photo: PTI)

This anti-BJP atmosphere is a new development in Indian politics and a sign of how radically things have changed in a few short years.

Instead of Congress, the BJP dominates the political scene. It is not yet possible to predict how long it will continue to do so. What is clear is that Congress and the other Opposition parties will have to bring their A-game to provide real competition in the elections. If they fail to unite for a common cause, the game is over.

Once Upon a Time, It Was Congress VS the Opposition

In the past, Opposition parties have employed anti-Congress sentiments as an election strategy. Be it their alliance during the watershed election in 1967, or the JP movement in 1977, or their capitalisation on the Bofors scandal and VP Singh’s criticism of Rajiv Gandhi in 1989. The pattern was the same.

The parties would unite in their quest to take down Congress, succeed in their mission, assume power, and quickly fall apart amidst quarrels and disputes. They would then unite again once it was evident that they couldn’t take on Congress individually.

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Consider the example of 1971: Indira Gandhi’s strong position after the Bangladeshi War gave new energy and force to the Opposition which began to consider uniting once again. Similarly, when the Rajiv Gandhi-led Congress won more than 400 seats in the 1984 elections, anti-Congress sentiments began to stir within the Opposition once again. There was no consensus of thought at the base of this, merely a desire to seize power.

This desire was so strong that these parties even gave up their individual identities in 1977 to form a new political entity called Janata Party. Since there was no consensus among them on platforms and principles, they soon fell to bickering. The same thing happened in 1989. Janata Dal was formed only to soon disintegrate into various largely regional parties.

The situation is similar today.

Opposition parties are uniting in a bid to take on BJP. However, there is one big difference that they will have to keep in mind.

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Their fight is not merely political, but ideological as well. It might, in fact, be the biggest crisis of ideology facing the country after Independence. The fight against Congress was never ideological; it was one against political hegemony.

Opposition leaders - including Mayawati, Sitaram Yechury, Sharad Yadav and Sonia Gandhi - meeting for a potential united Presidential candidate. (Photo: PTI)

Ever since PM Modi took the helm, the course of our nation is diametrically opposed to the ideals of Gandhi and the war for Indian independence. Gandhi not only spoke of progress for all, he also practiced it. The current administration might talk of sabka saath, sabka vikaas but all their actions seem aimed at persecuting minority communities and undermining their rights.

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The core of RSS’ ideology is anti-minority sentiments. Their beliefs, which lack any grounding in science or fact, are an affront to modernity itself. They are anti-women and believe that women are not equal to men. This kind of thought is cancerous to a developing civilisation like India. In light of all this, the Opposition has to present a strong progressive platform to counter those in power.

Whether 1967 or 1977 or 1989, it has always taken one charismatic leader to unite the Opposition. This position was assumed by Ram Manohar Lohia in 1967, who raised anti-Congress slogans. He was succeeded in 1977 by JP or Jayaprakash Narayan against whose thoughtful persona even bigwigs like Morarji Desai, Charan Singh, and Jagjeevan Ram stood in awe.

VP Singh took over in 1989 and such was his reputation that one had no choice but to follow his leadership.

No Such Leader in Sight Today

It is due to VP Singh’s towering reputation and the Bofors scandal that Lal Krishna Advani, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Jyoti Basu, and Harkishan Singh Surjit came together. There’s no such person on the political scene today.

It will take a charismatic leader to counter RSS and Modi; a leader with gravitas who can commandeer the public’s support.

Nitish Kumar is one contender for this post but his pally relationship with BJP-Modi is a cause for confusion for the Opposition. Sonia Gandhi is a big presence too, but her ill health combined with unpopularity makes it unlikely that others will unite behind her.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Nitish Kumar. (Photo: PTI)

We might not have a Bofors but we are undergoing a democratic crisis that is bigger than any scandal. The attempt by the Centre to make India into a Hindu nation will tear the country apart. Bofors was about corruption, which is indeed a menace, but this crisis challenges the very idea and existence of India.

Communalism is destroying our social fabric. It is destroying lives and livelihood alike. It is a greater threat than corruption. But there is a problem. The Bofors scandal was concrete while this is abstract. One can see the former unfold while you can only feel the latter.

A strong leader can provide shape to the threat that besieges our country but where we will find such a leader is hard to say.

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Internal Disputes Have to Be Put Aside

Uniting disparate groups requires a big heart. The Opposition need to put differences and petty squabbles aside. Neglecting to invite AAP to a meeting to decide a joint presidential candidate is not a good look for the Opposition; nor does it say much for the quality of their unity.

It is true that AAP present a formidable opponent for Congress where Delhi and Punjab are concerned. But if the Opposition is serious about rooting out a giant threat like the RSS, it has to rise above such considerations. They have to keep the bigger picture in mind and suffer short-term losses. Who knows? They might even end up presenting a credible choice to voters in 2019 elections.

The Presidential election is merely the trailer. It will provide a glimpse of what we can expect in the main event in 2019. If the Opposition gets its act together, the fight is sure to be an interesting one. The leaders of UP and Bihar have much to contribute here. The Lalu-Nitish experiment can be a lesson for Mayawati-Akhilesh.

AAP might seem like small fish but the voices of its supporters can be heard in every corner of the country. Other regional parties cannot claim the same. This is the USP of AAP.

In the coming days, the Presidential elections will decide many things about the fate of politics in our country. And we will be here, watching.

(The writer is an author and spokesperson of AAP. He can be reached at @ashutosh83B. This is an opinion piece and the views expressed above are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for the same. This article was originally published on QuintHindi.)