New Delhi: The political edge which the national opposition appeared to have gained as a result of its successes in three recent Assembly elections and in several by-elections before that has undoubtedly dissipated. It isn’t only Surgical Strike 2.0 which has robbed the opposition parties of their earlier momentum. What has also checked their impetus is the familiar malady of being too self-centred to take the initiative in building a ‘mahagathbandhan’ or a grand alliance based on mutual accommodation.
Notably, the BJP has proved to be more adept at evolving a consensus among its own allies which included the intemperate Shiv Sena, which had been carping against Big Brother over the last five years. Moreover, notwithstanding the reservations harboured by the northeastern parties against the BJP over the anti-minority Citizenship Bill, the latter has succeeded in mollifying them in order to build an alliance in the region.
It is obvious that for all their seeming arrogance, the Narendra Modi-Amit Shah duo know when to take a step back to placate a miffed ally. The Congress, on the other hand, has been steadily losing its own members in ones and twos as they obviously sense that the pastures are greener on the other side. The Congress also made no effort to reach an understanding with the SP and the BSP in Uttar Pradesh in the belief that it is influential enough in the state to fight on its own.
The result is the Cong may even face a challenge from the SP and the BSP in Amethi and Rae Bareli, its two pocket boroughs, bringing a broad smile to the BJP’s face. UP is one state where the Cong could have shown a better understanding of its current diminished status to leave the field open for the SP and the BSP. Instead, the Cong has confirmed the Mayawati’s fear it intends to undercut her Dalit base. Her apprehension will be strengthened by Priyanka’s visit to the young Dalit leader, Chandrashekhar Azad “Ravana”, in hospital. —Amulya Ganguli
