The next Lok Sabha elections are not too far away and positioning has already begun within the Opposition camp. While the Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has stated that the opposition should put up a united fight against the “divisive forces”, he was also quick to add that this was not the time to name a Prime Ministerial face of such a bloc. This announcement should have acted as a great unifier as the main worry amongst the opposition is that while Rahul Gandhi may have gained some heft post the Bharat Jodo Yatra, he is still no match for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. So it’s better that the opposition takes on the BJP (and Modi) on issues rather than personalities.
On this, the opposition seems to be in agreement. But the unity that Kharge asked for is still to come. For one, there is more than one grouping within the opposition. On one side is the Congress, the Left, NC, RJD, DMK, NCP and Uddhav Thackeray. On the other side are TMC, AAP and BRC. Some like Nitish Kumar. Mayawati and Akhilesh Yadav have yet to decide if they would do business with the Congress, or go it alone and then look for post poll alliances. Another way to look at it would be that all those with Prime Ministerial ambitions have not joined the Congress faction.
These are chasms that the BJP can exploit via three cornered fights that usually benefit the saffron party. What the opposition needs is a Sutradhar or a convenor that can hold these diverse egos and agendas together on one platform. The late Harkishen Singh Surjeet managed this role very effectively; to an extent, Sonia Gandhi played this part as she mentored the UPA alliance. But, can she do the same now? And if not Sonia, then who? Sharad Pawar could be one such candidate, for he has both the heft and an equation among all camps from Mamata Bannerjee, Arvind Kejriwal to the DMK and Congress.
The MVA alliance in Maharashtra has held despite some very basic differences between the Congress and Uddhav Thackeray, largely because of Pawar’s political manoeuvring.
Hence, rather than looking for a PM face, what the opposition needs first is a Sutradhar to unite all the parties onto one platform. If it doesn’t, then the regional parties will end up fighting the Congress more than the BJP and they will only end up strengthening the saffron outfit.