The meeting of Akhilesh Yadav and Mamata Banerjee is definitely not good news for opposition unity. If anything, it will certainly hinder the process of unity. It could also weaken Congress’ campaign to pin down Modi’s government over Adani. If Mamata Banerjee and Akhilesh Yadav had said they would unite to defeat Narendra Modi, this would have added a different flavor to the reunification process. But the pair’s public criticism of the Congress party and their attempt to distance themselves from the grand old party smacks of myopia and parochialism. I have been saying that today’s regional leaders lack national vision and ideological conviction, unlike the opposition politicians of the Congress era who belonged to small parties but had high national standing. These leaders have a national vision and are willing to sacrifice their own small interests for larger national goals.
No wonder that in 1977, all but a few opposition parties merged to form the People’s Party. They firmly believe that the dictatorship of Indira Gandhi must be defeated in order to save democracy.
Today, that belief is gone, and self-interest has become the driving force. This is the most important challenge facing the opposition today in the fight against Modi and the BJP. The Congress Party is the largest party in the opposition party, and it often talks with the leaders of the opposition parties to let them understand the urgency of uniting the opposition party, and it is their duty to do so. Since Rahul Gandhi is the leader of the Congress party, despite these obstacles, his leadership skills will be tested.
Congress, which has been accused of arrogance in its dealings with opposition parties, offered a major concession when Mallikarjun Kharge said in Chennai that Congress was not holding on to lead the opposition front. Responding to Farooq Abdullah’s statement that Congress should not uphold the prime ministership, Kharge said the opposition parties should iron out their differences and unite to defeat the BJP in the centre.
Priyanka Gandhi expressed similar sentiments in the Raipur session of Congress, saying: “The world is watching us (the opposition) and the opposition needs to be united to defeat the BJP.” During his visit to London, Rahul Gandhi said, “There is a lot of coordination going on with the opposition parties and dialogue between them.” He further said, “There are complications in many states but the opposition is very capable Have a discussion and resolve it.”
These three statements by the three top leaders of Congress show that Congress, as a party that has been in power for more than five years, has realized its weakness and knows that it cannot defeat the BJP; Can be the only glue that holds the opposition together.
During the 2019 election, this political clarity was lacking in the thought process of Congress. The opposition is a divided house. Each side is moving in a different direction. Rahul Gandhi is president of Congress, which has just won parliamentary elections in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. Rahul Gandhi believed that the Congress party alone could fight Modi in an uphill battle, and he was proven wrong.
Not only the opposition, but even Congress is divided into factions. The older leaders did not believe in Rahul Gandhi’s leadership. In fact, Rahul Gandhi said the same thing in his resignation letter after losing the election – he was “alone”.
It was also said that apart from the BJP and Modi government, it was Congress leaders who played a major role in the whisper campaign, who referred to Rahul as “Pappu” (for nothing). But now, Rahul Gandhi is a different man and Congress is no longer a broken house.
Those who underestimated Rahul Gandhi will start to look like Bharat Pure Land Pilgrimage. Some people are done with Rahul Gandhi pilgrimage Others scoffed at the idea.
this Bharat Pure Land Pilgrimage It turned out to be a ray of light in the dark for Congress.Skeptics and critics were appalled by the following responses pilgrimage Generated throughout. I believe Congress must have organized the crowds for the pilgrimage, but the overwhelming response couldn’t have just been the result of party management. People actually came to see and meet Rahul Gandhi.It is well known that the BJP initially tried to discredit pilgrimage Through their low-key publicity, but soon they realized it might hit them, so they stopped.
Rahul Gandhi is no longer “Pappu”. He has become a serious politician. This is what he has earned for himself through his own hard work and sincerity. Now, accusations of entitlement don’t freeze with people. It was Rahul Gandhi who transformed from so-called “Pappu” to “Authority”, a remarkable achievement of the Congress Party.
Desperate to tarnish Rahul’s new image, the Modi government and the BJP are doing everything they can to paint him as anti-nationalist.
this pilgrimage There is also heartache for many opposition leaders; the space many of them clamored to occupy is no longer vacant.
Mamata Banerjee is known to want to be the opposition’s candidate for prime minister. Nitish Kumar is another aspirant, along with Arvind Kejriwal. It is now Rahul Gandhi’s responsibility to break the deadlock with these leaders and engage them in one-on-one conversations to achieve greater unity and make them understand that leadership is not the issue at all and the priority should be to step down the BJP .
There is no doubt that there is some movement in the direction of opposition unity. In this parliament, apart from the Trinamur Congress led by Mamata Banerjee, more than a dozen opposition parties not only meet regularly, but also coordinate effectively on the Adani issue. Even the KCR (K Chandrasekhar Rao) and the AAP’s BRS, which until recently were seen as far from Congress, have been actively involved in the effort. They have quietly accepted the leadership of Congress and Mallikarjun Kharge. It was a welcome sign of unity in the opposition, but the news from Calcutta must have dampened the spirit of that unity and pleased the BJP.
There is no denying that opposition unity has been a tricky business, and a complicated one. It was also time consuming, but it was also an opportunity for Rahul Gandhi and the Congress Party to lead and turn the crisis into an opportunity.
(Ashutosh is the author of “Hindu Rashtra” and editor of satyahindi.com.)
Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author.
