With the Congress still in limbo over its inner party elections, and with so many defections, the focus is once again on the state of the opposition. And more specifically the question that if the Congress is in no shape to lead the attack against the BJP, then who shall head the opposition. It is clear that Rahul Gandhi does not have the mass credibility to lead the fight, plus he also has to consolidate his own position within the Congress.
This leads us to the larger question, can some other opposition leader take the mantle? Mamata Banerjee certainly has the ambition but she still has to find a footprint outside of West Bengal. Ditto for KCR who seems confined to Telangana and would have a problem winning over the North Indian voter. There is also Nitish Kumar, a born again contender who has once again crossed over to the “other” side after he broke off with Narendra Modi’s BJP. Certainly, he comes from the cow belt and there are as many migrant biharis scattered all over India as there are migrant UP wallahs. That vote would go to Nitish. His track record as chief minister will also do him credit, so one cannot rule out Nitish Kumar throwing in his hat for the top job. This also explains KCR’s planned visit to Bihar this week to meet Nitish.
But there is another audition that is taking place on our television screens night after night as Arvind Kejriwal and his Aam Admi Party take on the BJP. The battleground mayunlike Rahul Gandhi, the Aam Admi Party leader is a full-time politician. Like Modi, he is quick to react to a situation and can adapt to the need of the hour. He is also smart enough not to take on the BJP on its ideology, but instead has shifted the fight to its motives and hidden agendas. Kejriwal also knows how to play the victim card well and in doing so, paints the picture of the ruling party misusing the state machinery for its own ends. zbe Delhi, to the capital’s liquor policy, to the ED raids against Manish Sisodia and the allegations against the governor, appointed by the Centre. But the fight is for the mindspace of the entire country as the Aam Admi Party auditions its ambitions and its ability to take on the BJP. Certainly it is widening its area of influence from just Delhi and Punjab, for it will be contesting the elections in Himachal and Gujarat, where it may end up replacing the Congress as the main party pitched against the BJP. More than that, unlike Rahul Gandhi, the Aam Admi Party leader is a full-time politician. Like Modi, he is quick to react to a situation and can adapt to the need of the hour. He is also smart enough not to take on the BJP on its ideology, but instead has shifted the fight to its motives and hidden agendas. Kejriwal also knows how to play the victim card well and in doing so, paints the picture of the ruling party misusing the state machinery for its own ends. The Congress senses this and doesn’t know quite how to react. Hence, we saw a confused reaction when it sided with the ruling party on the issue of the ED raids against Manish Sisodia. How can the party attack the ED for interrogating Congress leaders but support its action against other opposition leaders? This hasn’t gone down well with the rest of the opposition either. Having said this, given a choice between Nitish Kumar and Arvind Kejriwal, most of the opposition would agree with the Congress and prefer the former.
While there is still two years to go before the Lok Sabha polls, it would be interesting to see how both the Congress and the Aam Admi Party fare in the next round of state polls. And whether they will end up fighting each other or the BJP.