Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party, the BJP promised Acche Din (good days) to the people as an alternative from the previous government. There was a huge wave of his supporters because of his personality and the promises he made. He had become the crusader against corruption.
Three years on, we’ve had demonetisation and a hastily implemented Goods and Services Tax (GST) with exorbitant rates which have hit the GDP and has brought down small and medium scale businesses. Farmer suicides are on a high, and benefits of growth seem to only be accumulated by a few corporates.
In short, the Modi government has been ruthlessly attacking the livelihood of people, to whom they promised these acche din.
Whoever is able to see the functioning of the current BJP government, and is a staunch believer in secularism, can see how the RSS agenda is slowly unravelling. Till now, this agenda was only restricted to the RSS shakhas, but now it’s coming out in the open. Lynching in the name of cow protection or threatening minorities and journalists – all these are clear signs of fascism, which has been a goal of the RSS.
Therefore, I believe that opposition unity is the need of the hour. But what is the state of the opposition?
Congress
The Congress in UPA I and II did a lot of welfare and started good programmes, but it clearly could not market its policies well and apparently, the BJP also seemed to be taking credit for some of the UPA government’s work. Then came the 2G and coal scam which completely tarnished the Congress party’s image.
Now it is 2017, and well past the 2014 election defeat. Rahul Gandhi is all set to take over as the Congress president. He has recently brought in vigour into the party through his speeches, his campaign in Gujarat and his social media presence. He has a young team with people like Sachin Pilot, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Milind Deora, Gaurav Gogoi, etc. by his side, along with experienced leaders like Sonia Gandhi, Chidambaram, Dr Manmohan Singh, Mani Shankar Aiyar, Shashi Tharoor, etc.
Rahul Gandhi has been recently talking about how the Congress party will focus on small and medium businesses and agriculture, in contrast to what the BJP led government is doing. He has also been talking about decentralization, enhancing democracy in the parliament and empowering panchayats etc.
In short, Rahul Gandhi wants to portray the Congress as a modern social democratic party with the fusion of welfare state economics and democratic socialism as its principles. And I believe this is the vision that can take the Congress out of the abyss and make it a prime challenger to the BJP’s right wing offensive.
These are tough times, and Rahul Gandhi’s leadership skills will surely be tested. But he has been working hard and the party is gearing up for the 2019 challenge.
Left
Currently, the Left is in disarray. It has the least MPs in parliament in its history. CPI(M) which is the major constituent of the Left Front has lost power in West Bengal after 34 years. However, in Kerala, Left has come back to power, giving the Kerala unit more strength in politburo.
The charismatic General Secretary of the party, Sitaram Yechury, has been trying to bring in a line of broader cooperation and alliance with secular democratic parties. Both Left and the Congress desperately need each other’s support to combat the Trinamool Congress and the BJP.
I think Sitaram Yechury is the best leader, and the only hope for the broad Left as he is also a pillar of opposition unity. UPA – III cannot be imagined without him playing a pivotal role. The Left also offers an ideological commitment to socialism and secularism, which is vital for steering a Grand Alliance.
By next year, the line that CPI(M) will take will be clear. This will determine the direction which CPI(M) takes. The ray of hope is that CPI, which is the junior player in Left Front, has already indicated that it will be a part of the broad opposition force to fight fascism.
Key Regional Players
Samajwadi Party (SP)
Led by Akhilesh Yadav, although it lost the assembly elections in UP, is a formidable force in UP. The party has got back it’s vigour under Akhilesh Yadav’s youthful leadership and image.
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)
Mayawati is a force that cannot be ignored. She has a mass following and could play a pivotal role if the SP, BSP and Congress get together to fight the BJP in Uttar Pradesh.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)
Led by MK Stalin, who has taken over from Karunanidhi, has the complete support of the party. DMK is in a commanding position since AIADMK supremo Jayalalithaa’s death. The BJP has been trying to sneak in TN behind AIADMK’s back but cannot gain much.
Rashtriya Janta Dal (RJD)
Lalu and his son Tejashwi, have a lot to gain in Bihar. The minorties seem to see Lalu,along with the Congress, as someone who can take on the BJP’s Hindutva politics now. And with rise of Tejashwi Yadav, Bihar politics may get a new star.
Without the Congress at the core and Left parties acting as the glue , regional parties wouldn’t come on board and stick together, as most of these regional parties are opportunist, and also do not have a very clear ideology when in comes to social and economic foundations.
Hence Rahul Gandhi and Sitaram Yechury along with veterans like Sharad Yadav need to work closely to stitch together an alternative, based on secularism, social justice and welfare economics which will challenge Modi’s so called acche din in 2019 .