CAN THE UPA BE REINVENTED?

After Prashant Kishor’s failed talks with the Congress the focus is once again on what the Opposition can do to revive the UPA. For if the Modi juggernaut is to be countered then it cannot be left to the Congress alone. The entire UPA has to come together and fight on a common narrative (if not under a common face) to counter Modi’s appeal.

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee .Poll strategist Prashant Kishor declines the offer to join Congress, last Tuesday.

The data seems to support such a gambit. As Kishor has pointed out on many occasions, there are about 200 seats in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Orissa, Kerala, Telangana and Tamil Nadu where the BJP did not get more than 50 seats even when it was at its peak. In most of these states the non-Congress opposition parties weigh in much more than the Congress. What the Congress needs to do is to bring in the bulk of the balance, roughly a hundred seats. On paper it seems easy enough but as the last two Lok Sabha polls have shown, it is easier said than done.

One message from the failed talks is that the Congress will not outsource its revival to any outsider. Hence there can be no meddling with the Congress but the UPA can be meddled with, it can be reinvented. The first step of course would be to change the UPA Chairperson. Currently the post rests with the Congress – with Sonia Gandhi. However, there is a case to be made that the single largest party need not necessarily take the lead in coordinating the alliance.

Take George Fernandes who was the coordinator of the NDA even though the BJP was the single largest party. Earlier NT Rama Rao was coordinator of the National Front and Chandrababu Naidu of the United Front. The argument in favour of wresting the chairperson of the UPA away from the Congress cites these case studies. And there are enough contenders for the job – from Mamata Banerjee, Sharad Pawar to even the TRS Chief. 

The one man who can bring all these parties together on a rebuilt platform could be Prashant Kishor. He has worked with almost all of them – from TMC, DMK, YSRCP, TRS to even AAP and the Congress. Will this then be Kishor’s next move? He says he wants to deal directly with the people who are the ‘Real Masters’ without any intermediaries. His close friend and TMC leader Pavan Varma told NewsX this means Kishor will be stepping into the political arena. While he will be beginning from Bihar it is clear that Kishor ambitions are national. With the Lok Sabha polls a little over two years away there is only one way this can be achieved – which is to reinvent and revive the UPA.