One doesn’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that for a strong, stable, and healthy democracy, a country needs a strong opposition. Nevertheless, the opposition is needed, but not to oppose the government of the day for the sake of opposing by disrupting the House, storming the well of the House, interrupting nonstop the Ministers explaining the policies, or creating unruly scenes that eventually lead to frequent adjournment of the House and, many a time, a total washout of the entire Parliament session. To be fair, all the blame can’t be put on the Opposition alone. Most of the time, governments enjoying a comfortable majority tend to take the Opposition for granted, seldom seek their inputs for the formulation of the policies which affect millions of people, show reluctance to refer issues to the standing committees of the parliament where they could be analysed and discussed threadbare and resort to issuing ordinances even when the parliament is about to be convened.
The opposition can play a constructive role of a responsible and effective Opposition by doing its homework, studying issues closely with facts and figures, and quizzing the government with sharp and searching questions so that the Govt doesn’t try to ride roughshod. In brief, the Opposition is supposed to be the watchdog of democracy which keeps the government on the toes and prevents it from transgressing established norms and conventions and stay the course on larger national interest including security interests and people’s needs, expectations and aspirations.
But no opposition party, on its own, or as a group can act as an effective watchdog if it doesn’t have the numbers. To be able to stand up and get counted and not brushed aside, the opposition should have sufficient numbers of MPs to put pressure on the Govt. So, it’s all about the numbers!
And the number of the winners in the recently held elections in UP, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa leaves none in any doubt that the BJP continues to be on the winning streak despite strong critique about rising inflation, sluggish exports, high unemployment, and the devastation caused by Covid-19. Yogi Adityanath created history by getting a second inning to serve as the CM; Uttarakhand CM also beat the incumbency blues and both Manipur and Goa returned the BJP with the majority. While the record card the CMs did play a significant role, BJP’s Brahmashtra remains Narendra Modi! BJP’s resounding victory in four states is an unmistakable vindication of people’s massive support to and approval of Modi’s inspiring leadership, grand and energizing vision, hundreds of people-friendly policies, and his tireless efforts to make India strong, confident, prosperous, developed capable of defending her borders and prepared to address the challenges of 21st century and securing India’s rightful place among the comity of nations.
Many observers believe that these election results have already settled the outcome of the Parliamentary elections in 2024. In his op-ed in the Times of India on 12th March former Vice Chairman of Niti Aayog, Prof Arvind Pangariya of Columbia University wrote, “It is now all but certain that PM Modi will remain in office till at least 2029 with a clear majority in the Parliament.” But veteran political analysts feel, it’s premature to make such predictions at this stage.
Voters’ verdict in UP State elections has aggravated the condition of 137-year-old INC which has been in the ICU for quite some time and is now slowly slipping into coma. In the state which has given four Prime Ministers belonging to it, the Congress party, somehow, squeezed two seats. With vote share plummeting to 2.3% and 97% of its candidates having lost security, this is Congress’s most humiliating defeat. What about, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s vigorous campaigning, TV interviews, and interaction with women and the youth, and the much-hyped announcement of giving 40% tickets to women? She also raised persistently the issues of unemployment, education, health, poverty, and alleged misgovernance. but of no avail. Why? Either her message didn’t resonate with the people or she couldn’t connect with people hence had no clue about what they wanted. As in the past, the CWC did go through the ritual of introspection and post-mortem but its autopsy report didn’t hit the bull’s eye.
Even a vegetable vendor or a paanwala at the nukkad knows what’s wrong with the Congress party; their cryptic remark sums up the malaise: Inke neta kisi kaam ke nahi hein! Unko kuchh bhi idea nahi ki janata kya chahati hai! (Their leaders are no good. They have no clue of what the public really wants!). Suffering from the ostrich syndrome, its leaders don’t realize the Leadership crises at the top for years. But who will bell the cat? Does the Congress party have the courage to emulate what the BJP did on the eve of the 2014 parliamentary elections? It unceremoniously dumped LK Advani dashing his lifetime ambition to be the PM!
The Triumvirate— Sonia, Rahul, and Priyanka— are, understandably, keen to carry forward the legacy of the Congress but their actions do just the opposite. They may have an all-embracing vision of a plural, secular, inclusive, tolerant India striving to achieve economic development with social justice, working for the poor and the disadvantaged, securing India’s borders, and ensuring India’s rightful place in the comity of nations. But to translate their ideas into concrete actions, they must be in the driving seat. But they can’t occupy that seat unless they win elections.
In this regard, shouldn’t they ask a simple question: if their vision and narrative are so convincing why do people not vote for them? Conversely, if everything is as wrong with Modi and his government as alleged by Gandhis, why would voters give him such a strong mandate? Congress must solve this riddle or it can’t hope to win again.
When a team loses match after match and feels disheartened, the first thing the management does is to change the Captain and introduce fresh blood. Congress is no exception. Alas! The second generation of young and capable leaders who could offer leadership has left the INC in frustration. Leftovers are sycophants and hanger-ons; they are left with no fire in the belly to take the fight to enemy’s camp. Besides, top leaders have become shame-proof; successive electoral losses don’t embarrass them anymore. They seem to be asking: who can stop us from destroying our party?
While the 137-year-old INC is facing the existential crises, the ten-year-old AAP is writing history by achieving a massive majority and defeating some of the tallest leaders in Punjab including three Chief Ministers, though It doesn’t have a nationwide presence and infrastructure like the Congress, and nor the dedicated support of an organization like the RSS. If Arvind Kejriwal can beat the Modi-Shah duo in Delhi twice and now in Punjab, isn’t there a message for Congress? Last year, Mamata Banerjee also trounced the BJP and its strident rhetoric. Even if the Gandhi family agrees to step down, is there a leader who could keep the party united & revamp it?
Political compulsions of building a strong and effective Opposition warrant that Congress, the TMC and the AAP should merge. Sonia Gandhi being the Senior most and representing the oldest party should invite Mamata and Kejriwal, without any preconditions, to brainstorm this idea. Both of them, unlike the Congress, have vanquished the BJP in their backyard and have the momentum in their favour. So, Congress should forsake her leadership claim and act as a constructive partner.
Won’t Mamata as the President and both Kejriwal and Rahul Gandhi as the Vice Presidents be a formidable Troika to face the BJP in 2024?
Sonia Gandhi being the senior most leader and representing the oldest party should invite Mamata and Kejriwal, without any preconditions, to brainstorm the idea of building a united opposition front. Both, Mamata and Kejriwal, unlike the Congress, have vanquished the BJP in their backyard and have the momentum in their favour. This is possibly the only way that leaders can rally ahead of 2024 polls to form a strong opposition.