Non-NDA Parties Are Invoking Cultural Diversity To Counter The BJP

Non-NDA parties plan to invoke regional pride and cultural diversity to counter the BJP.

- Pratul Sharma

Last December, just when opposition parties were joining forces to corner the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government in Parliament, the Congress made a misstep. Much to the BJP’s glee, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi took a delegation of party leaders to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking loan waiver for farmers. The meeting happened at a time when Gandhi had been threatening to reveal information that, he said, would prove his corruption allegations against Modi. It not only blunted his attack on Modi, but also angered opposition leaders, who decided to withdraw from the protest march the Congress had organised against demonetisation.

Achieving unity among opposition parties has been an arduous exercise, as past political experiments have shown. The presidential election on July 17 would be the first test of unity among non-NDA parties, which are still a long way from forging a grand alliance ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

“We are still not talking about any grand alliance. It will be jumping the gun. A lot would depend upon the situation in the country, and the people’s mood,” CPI leader D. Raja told THE WEEK.

An aggressive BJP has been extending its reach by scoring thumping electoral victories, while opposition parties are still trying to find an effective plan to counter Modi.

On June 3, Rahul Gandhi, Nitish Kumar of the Janata Dal (United), Sitaram Yechury of the CPI(M) and Omar Abdullah of the National Conference gathered at the YMCA ground in Royapettah, Chennai, to greet DMK patriarch M. Karunanidhi on his 94th birthday. Karunanidhi was indisposed to make it to the rally, where the leaders invoked Tamil pride to caution people against the BJP. The rally was also a coronation of sorts for 65-year-old M.K. Stalin, the DMK’s working president, who has been longing to step into his father Karunanidhi’s shoes.