{"id":221091,"date":"2023-07-25T00:07:00","date_gmt":"2023-07-24T18:37:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/?p=221091"},"modified":"2023-07-25T00:07:00","modified_gmt":"2023-07-24T18:37:00","slug":"coalitions-back-on-centrestage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/2023\/07\/25\/coalitions-back-on-centrestage\/","title":{"rendered":"Coalitions back on centrestage"},"content":{"rendered":"

39 Modi’s NDA Vs 27 Jeetega INDIA<\/strong><\/h2>\n

By Poonam I Kaushish<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

2014 we bid adieu to messy multi-Party coalitions amidst fractured mandates. But as happenings last week underscore obituaries of alliance politics was hasty. With 27 Opposition Parties coming together as INDIA (Indian National Developmental, Inclusive Alliance) and BJP pushing to expand NDA to 39 after allowing it to atrophy for years, coalition dynamics have vaulted to top agenda 2024 with the winner taking all.<\/p>\n

The new coinage is intended to place the nation against BJP-NDA\u2019s electoral mascot: Modi. And trust NaMo to hold a parallel NDA conclave on the same day as Opposition\u2019s Bengaluru meet to say the fight is on.<\/p>\n

Shocked BJP strategists are cursing the wordsmith who coined INDIA alongside Jeetega Bharat and are busy finding ways to stop Opposition from using it as its main campaign slogan in next year\u2019s Lok Sabha polls. Given how adroitly Opposition not only hijacked \u201cBharat\u201d from BJP\u2019s traditional slogan, but also translated it from their new name, \u2018INDIA\u2019, to mean one and the same thing. Specially as the Constitution begins with the phrase, \u2018India that is Bharat\u2019. They are now busy deriding Opposition as upper-class India\u2019s Lutyens gang against its homegrown Asli Bharat.<\/p>\n

The way BJP is going about the name has given Opposition confidence that they may after all, be on the right track. Whether it fears a backfire on INDIA is debatable. Successive Enforcement Directorate raids on Tamil Nadu\u2019s DMK Ministers, after the first Opposition conclave in Patna and again prior to Bengaluru meet is a clean give-away. Whether there is any link, the fact is that 8 of 27 INDIA member-Parties are from Tamil Nadu.<\/p>\n

Pertinently, INDIA is the closest acronym Opposition has come after Sonia Gandhi\u2019s \u2018Aam Aadmi\u2019 against Vajpayee-led BJP\u2019s \u2018India Shining!\u2019 campaign 2004 which concluded that for the common man his India was not shining resulting in UPA ruling till 2014. The same, Opposition now hopes and prays, would be the fate of Modi\u2019s successful 2014 \u2018Achche Din\u2019 and 2019 Sab ka Saath, Sab ka Vikas, Sab ka Vishwas \u2018.<\/p>\n

Questionably how will INDIA translate at the ground level as individual candidates are going to contest only on their Party name and symbol, and INDIA as an acronym would have no place there. The Constitution does not recognize Parties and Representation of the People Act also does not identify electoral alliances, pre-poll or post-poll.<\/p>\n

Look at the dichotomy. AAP\u2019s Delhi and Punjab units are vehemently opposed to joining hands with Congress. In Bihar JD(U)\u2019s Nitish is sulking that Congress has wrested his numero uno status and calling the shots, hence his reluctance to be convenor of INDIA. CPM strongly criticizes TMC\u2019s Mamata as anti-democratic in Bengal and its Left vs Congress in Kerala. Will Thackeray\u2019s Shiv Sena support Muslim quota as envisioned by Congress?<\/p>\n

Importantly, Congress has to avoid the pitfall of its record of failures in dealing with poverty and lack of development as its narrative around guarantees might fail to cut ice with voters. It along with others will have to clearly define which social segments it seeks to align with, Dalits, Adivasis, small farmers, urban poor and unorganized earners in service sector.<\/p>\n

Moreover, a coalition cannot just be woven around an anti-Modi theme. It needs a vibrant script. Even as it underlines \u2018inclusive\u2019 in its name, BJP has usurped it by succeeding in drawing a parallel with politics of appeasement. Besides, both Patna and Bengaluru draw attention to challenges Opposition faces rather than those it is likely to pose to BJP.<\/p>\n

One, they will have to make clear their coming together has nothing to do with their Ministers being questioned by CBI-ED. True, cases against AAP\u2019s Sisodia, TMC\u2019s Abhishek\u00a0 Bannerjee or DMK\u2019s two Ministers has stoked resentment in their respective Parties but their anger does not add up to an alternate as BJP has succeeded in casting the onus of defending their innocence on the Parties.<\/p>\n

That many of these Parties have skeletons in their closets has not helped them. The cause of Opposition unity needs to be larger than the threat to its individual members. Also, as many Congress, SP, RJD, DMK are helmed by dynasts, INDIA needs to find a larger idea and build a bigger whole.<\/p>\n

They now have the onerous task of proving to people that it is not Sab ka Saath, Sab ka Vikas and Achche Din\u2019 either for the aam aadmi, as only the rich have become richer and the poor, poorer, in \u2018Modi\u2019s India\u2019. If they want to play the game right INDIA will have to start lengthening their stride. Remember, a weak Opposition by any name will remain a weak Opposition.<\/p>\n

Additionally, INDIA\u2019s backbone are regional Parties and their fight against BJP is at the same time a fight against a domineering Centre. Towards that end the RJD-JD(U) in Bihar, TMC in Bengal, Congress in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh have taken a leaf out of Modi\u2019s vikas, inclusiveness\u00a0 and soft Hindutva.<\/p>\n

Two, in terms of seats NDA (323) is far ahead of INDIA (134) but the vote shares: NDA\u2019s 42%\u00a0 to INDIA\u2019s 35% make them competitive. Further, BJP might feel confident of having majority States under its belt along-with its partners but it should remember vote shares often don\u2019t transfer perfectly. Thus, seat-sharing arrangements will be key.<\/p>\n

Further, in NDA 22 of 39 Parties have zero seats in Parliament but they convey an important signal to their respective social groups. In UP BJP is dominant but has Apna Dal and Nishad Party not due to their strength but message to non-dominant backward communities.\u00a0 Modi dubs it \u201ca beautiful rainbow where no Party is big or small\u201d, signaling a tactical shift and accommodative NDA? As centralization within the Party has resulted in diminishing of its State leadership that has returned to haunt.<\/p>\n

Certainly, BJP which faces mounting discomforts of two terms incumbency needs fresh thinking and ideas. The rout in Karnataka and its failure to make inroads in 5 Southern States which send 130 MPs have made it incumbent to begin its scorecard therein.<\/p>\n

Opposition too will need clarity on why it is keen on displacing BJP. A coalition to jointly defeat the ruling Party is understandable but it is necessary to convince themselves that only by coming together can their survival be insured. Beyond that they will need lucidity about what they are opposed to. Mere Modi-baiting is not a convincing answer.<\/p>\n

To the voter, whether 27 or 39 numbers don\u2019t really matter. He is aware that BJP is the single largest Party as Congress comes a very distant second. Barring AIADMK, the rest are all pygmies in NDA every which way. In comparison, many of INDIA\u2019s constituent Parties combine are not write-offs.<\/p>\n

Alas, both alliances story is nothing but \u201cyou scratch my back and I yours\u201d, but both need to watch out for the possibility of mutual back-stabbing in the name of mutual back-scratching being very real.<\/p>\n

Democratic governance is becoming more complex by the day. Both NDA and INDIA beyond seat sharing and ego massaging have to strike the right balance between being popular and taking care of popular interest with a long term vision.\u00a0 Conclaves are fine but a lot of thinking and labour will be required to be put in. As the business of shaping India nee Bharat is not a matter of arithmetic but of politics. Who will come up trumps? \u2014\u2014 INFA<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

39 Modi’s NDA Vs 27 Jeetega INDIA By Poonam I Kaushish 2014 we bid adieu to messy multi-Party coalitions amidst fractured mandates. But as happenings last week underscore obituaries of alliance politics was hasty. With 27 Opposition Parties coming together as INDIA (Indian National Developmental, Inclusive Alliance) and BJP pushing to expand NDA to 39 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-221091","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-features"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221091","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=221091"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221091\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=221091"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=221091"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=221091"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}