By G Krishna Mohan Rao*
Two major political rallies by opposition parties are awaited this month to take on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). One by Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) president and Telangana Chief Minister Kalvakuntla Chandrashekar Rao, popularly known as KCR, on January 18, 2023, in Khammam (Telangana) and another by the Congress Party on January 30 in Srinagar. For KCR, this is the first major public rally after his Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) party became BRS at the national level. While for Congress, is the concluding event of its leader Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra. Both rallies are expected to indulge in BJP bashing.
There are wide speculations that KCR’s rally may sow the seeds of a non-BJP, non-Congress force on the national scene. Being held on the borders of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, the rally is going to be attended by three chief ministers of the Opposition-ruled States—Arvind Kejriwal of Delhi, Bhagwant Mann of Punjab and Pinrai Vijayan of Kerala—- as well as left leaders and regional satraps including Akhilesh Yadav of Samajwadi Party and D Raja of the Communist Party of India (CPI).
However, more than the mega show, it remains to be seen what will be the political message.
The BJP, the Congress, as well as the regional forces, are keen to know what would be the KCR’s national agenda. KCR’s intention to play a big role in national politics is well-received but he is yet to come out with his economic and social agenda. The BJP is curious to know, to what extent KCR would focus on the new agriculture policy and free power. KCR’s secular image at the national level is impeccable, but his development mantra of Telangana is not familiar to many. Ever since TRS became BRS, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) has been consistently campaigning against KCR, stating that the BRS is a strategy to confuse the opposition camp at the BJP’s behest.
On the other hand, there is an upbeat mood in the BJP camp as was reflected today in the hard-hitting political resolution adopted on the inaugural day of its national executive. Making a passing reference to the upcoming two public meetings of the Opposition, the ruling BJP exuded confidence that the Opposition is badly divided and it would be fetching dividends for the saffron brigade politically.
The BJP political resolution today resolved to “must win all 9 states in the run-up to the 2024’”. This certainly reflects to analyse of how realistic the opposition unity today is to take on the BJP, with the Congress Party on a decline. The general perception is that instead of revamping the demoralised party organisation and bringing new energy into the cadres, the Congress Party is busy building up the “ image of the Gandhis”. Today the Congress Party even claimed that 20 per cent of the vote share is still intact nationally. The party claims that only it can stop the BJP’s momentum in the run-up to the 2024 polls. Instead of raising the morale and bringing new spirit and energy to the party, the Congress Party is blaming the regional parties as the “B team” of the BJP.
For the Congress Party, the coalition-making strategy is driven more by political trust than ideology. For the Srinagar rally on January 30, 2023,, the party has not invited several regional parties, which are not formally aligned to the BJP nor considered to have a communal agenda. They include Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), KCR’s BRS, Asaduddin Owaisi’s All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), Badruddin Ajmal’s All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), Jagan Reddy’s Yuvajana Shramika Rythu Congress Party, Naveen Patnaik’s Biju Janata Dal and others including All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazagham (AIADMK) and Akali Dal. However, the Congress Party invited several regional party leaders including Chandrababu Naidu of the Telugu Desam Party. It also decided to invite Janata Dal-Secular for the concluding event.
The Congress Party wants to sustain the alliances with the Dravida Munnetra Kazagham (DMK), Nationalist Congress Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Shiv Sena, Janata Dal-United, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, as well as the Left in West Bengal and Tripura.
The Congress Party is insisting that the Bharat Jodo Yatra has nothing to do with the 2024 parliamentary elections and that the Srinagar invites should not be viewed in the context of electoral strategy. However, by being selective in inviting opposition parties, in a way at this present juncture, the major stumbling block for the opposition unity seems to be the Congress Party. At the same time while there are doubts about their possible post-poll behaviour as well, and although there is a trust deficit between the Congress and Trinamul Congress, Samajwadi party and the Bahujan Samaj Party, the dominant feeling is that their leaders have been under compulsion and would stand up against the BJP in critical situations.
*Senior journalist
