Anil Anand
Suddenly there is a chorus singing among the opposition leaders angling to counter Narendra Modi-led BJP in 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The lyric of the singing is Congress played to the tune that no opposition unity to counter factor Modi is possible without Congress.
Yes, you have rightly heard that Congress is at the centre stage of the opposition unity buzz. There is still a long way off and the route is turbulent, to decide whether the fledging over a century old party which is desperately trying to find an anchor to steady it, would be accepted in a lead role or what these leaders fathom- in an act of a fulcrum. There is a question mark on whether the party is at all ready to assume this responsibility.
Irrespective of the role that the Congress could be assigned or it agrees to play, the moot point is whether the party is internally prepared to act as a hub of opposition unity. Or whether the party is even trying to put its act together to be in line for this role through setting its disarrayed house in order?
The buzz of opposition unity gained currency when a group of opposition leaders, prominent citizens and retired bureaucrats held a meeting under the banner of ‘Rashtra Manch’, floated sometime back by former Finance Minister, Yashwant Sinha, at the official residence of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief, Sharad Pawar, in Delhi recently. No Congress representative was present in this meeting that led to rumours that a non-Congress third front is in the offing to challenge the BJP.
This led to a flurry of clarifications and denials that by default put Congress on the centre-stage. Almost every opposition leader clarified that no anti-BJP front was either tenable or sustainable without Congress’ participation. The chorus was led by Pawar and later joined by West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamta Banerjee, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader, Tejaswi Yadav, Sanjay Raut of Shiv Sena, DMK chief, M K Stalin and others.
“An opposition front cannot be formed without Congress,” said Mr Pawar who was the architect of Congress-NCP-Shiv Sena alliance in Maharashtra. Bringing two ideological arch-rivals together was not a mean achievement. This was preceded by poll strategist Mr Prashant Kishore declaring in a similar vein and refused to be part of any third front without Congress.
Mamta Banerjee had earlier expressed similar views while Raut has been quoted having said that any alliance will be incomplete without the Congress. He further said that the Congress will play an important role in the alliance that aims to provide a strong alternative to the present dispensation.
At the core of this chorus singing is the fact that in the entire opposition camp Congress is the only national party with a pan-India presence notwithstanding its decimation in successive elections and internal factional rumblings refusing to take a break. The party is being viewed by the regional satraps to perform the role of glue to hold the smaller entities together.
No one can deny that Congress is central and crucial to forge any anti-BJP formation. In fact it is a political reality under current circumstances which even the mercurial but successful leaders such as Pawar and Mamta Banerjee, nursing Prime Ministerial ambitions, realise. And that is why leading the chorus for a Congress participated alliance. This is despite the fact that they are unhappy with the prevailing uncertainty within the Congress over its leadership and organisational issues.
This Congress-themed chorus singing should spur the party to shed lethargy and complacency and turn into an active mode. This is an opportunity that the beleaguered Congress must seize with both hands. The time is ticking fast and the BJP is already in top gear preparing for the 2024 general elections under the cover of next year’s all significant Uttar Pradesh assembly polls.
The pan-India tag is under the circumstances Congress’ Unique Selling Point (USP) which the party should exploit to the hilt to remain in the reckoning for future electoral battles. Every battle requires preparation, strategy and training. Realising the direly needed exigencies of political survival, the Congress high command must sort out its long standing issues both at the AICC and at the levels of the states to become battle ready.
First and foremost the suspense over who will be the next Congress president should be resolved without further delay. Although he has been acting as a de facto head of the party for the past sometime, Rahul Gandhi, who is the centre of BJP’s attack, must clear the mist- whether he wants to be the Congress president again or not. His clarification on this count will solve bulk of the problem and then can pave way for a future course of action involving revamping the organisation from top to bottom and ensuring some amount of, if not all encompassing, internal democracy.
Under the circumstances, with G 23 rebellion in the backdrop, and Mr Gandhi seemingly playing proactive role in the party’s affairs unmindful of the constant personal attacks by the battery of BJP leaders and spokespersons and questions being raised about his abilities within the Congress, the MP from Wayanad throwing his hat in the arena for the post of president seems to be a foregone conclusion. That seems to be mood among the rank and file as well barring a strong quarter of old guard who have been unfavourably viewing the generational change.
“Any talk of Opposition unity is in any case meaningless without major national party (read Congress) becoming its pivot,” wrote columnist Ms Tavleen Singh. A die-hard Modi fan turned critic, she was supporting Mr Kishore’s contention that no third front was possible without Congress.
Coming from a decades-old harsh critic, this observation must please Congress and when she has no personal political interest in opposition unity other than squaring up with Mr Modi at the next general elections. Even though her ire directed at the Prime Minister has personal reasons, the Congress must view a critic’s observation seriously.
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