CHALLENGES AND POSSIBILITIES FOR OPPOSITION UNITY

Nitish Kumar travelled to Delhi last week to pitch for Opposition unity, and he returned to Patna with some early success. Rahul Gandhi tweeted after the meeting, "Saath khade hai, saath ladenge, bharat ke liye." (We stand together, we will fight together, for India). In a similar tone, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said, "Nitish Kumar's initiative has our support." Sharad Pawar, too, echoed Rahul.

- SHASHI SHEKHAR

So, has the Opposition caravan started rolling? What will the shape of this unity be? In our experience, such Opposition grand alliances do not always produce favourable results. Will different sorts of coordination emerge in different states? Amid these contradictions, how can a common goal be achieved?

The supporters of Nitish believe he qualifies for a "national role" as besides having experience as the chief minister of Bihar for the last 18 years, without being accused of dynastic politics or corruption, he also has had experience as a central minister. His image and acceptance can help to smooth the path to unity. The best examples are the stands taken by Gandhi and Kejriwal.

Currently, 14 states are ruled by opposition parties. In Maharashtra Sharad Pawar is talking about unity, while Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal has not indicated if she will participate in any such initiative. She recently tried to obstruct the path of the Congress by fielding TMC candidates in Goa, Meghalaya and Tripura. Mamata wants the Congress and Left parties to remain weak in Bengal and her party to compete only with the BJP at the next polls, reaping the benefits of vote polarization.