Mamata Banerjee’s Opposition Unity attempts without Congress
Asia News Agency
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has making the rounds of political capitals like Delhi and Mumbai to garner support and coordinate the anti BJP Opposition. After a meeting with NCP Chief Sharad Pawar in Mumbai, she called for the opposition to unite to fight the BJP while taking thinly veiled swipes at the Congress leadership.
Banerjee’s remarks like “there is no UPA now” and that nothing can be achieved by “staying abroad most of the time” were seen as targeting the Congress and the Gandhis.
Meanwhile, Pawar – whose NCP is in a coalition with the Congress in Maharashtra – said leadership was not an issue at present and all like-minded parties were welcome to join the fight against the BJP.
Before that, interacting with members of civil society, Banerjee claimed she had suggested to the Congress that an advisory council of prominent personalities from civil society be set up to give a direction to the opposition, but it was “in vain”.
The TMC has recently inducted several Congress leaders into its fold. Also, 12 out of 17 Congress MLAs in Meghalaya defected to the party – including former chief minister Mukul Sangma.
Criticism by Congress
Taking a swipe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi she said “you can’t be abroad most of the time”.
“There is an environment of fascism in the country today. A strong alternative needs to be given against it. Nobody can do it alone. Those who are strong should be taken together,” she said in a press briefing. Asked whether Pawar would lead the UPA, she said: “What UPA? There is no UPA now. We will decide on it together.”
Her remarks drew sharp criticism from many Congress leaders. Congressman Kapil Sibal Thursday said without the Congress, the UPA will be a body without a soul and asserted that it was time to show opposition unity. “Time to show opposition unity,” Sibal tweeted.
Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury accused the TMC supremo of starting “madness” with her comments. “Does Mamata Banerjee not know what UPA is? I think she has started madness,” he said. “She thinks the whole of India has started chanting ‘Mamata, Mamata’. But India doesn’t mean Bengal and Bengal alone doesn’t mean India.”
In a veiled jab at Banerjee, Congress Legislative Party Leader and Maharashtra Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat said “No individual party can fight against BJP by directly or indirectly criticising Rahul Gandhi if that party continues to think about its political gain and personal ambitions. The Congress is the only viable option for the country and the democracy.”
Congress’s Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said, “We’ve tried to include them (TMC) in various socio-political issues where Congress made its name. Opposition should not get divided & fight amongst themselves, we’ve to fight against BJP together.
Churning in Opposition may spur Congress
All in all, The Tribune writes Banerjee’s assertion that the Congress-led UPA, does not exist anymore “is testimony to the churning that the Opposition is witnessing at long last. The Opposition’s failure to project a strong, unifying leader has helped the BJP go from strength to strength in the past over seven years. With the TMC looking to expand its footprint nationally and bring together like-minded regional parties, it’s apparent that the Congress can no longer take its place as the main Opposition party for granted.
“…..There is speculation that the TMC is playing into the BJP’s hands with its attempts to outsmart the Congress. However, fierce competition within the Opposition is a healthy development that can rouse the beleaguered Congress to finally get its act together. The rumblings may also lead to the emergence of a national leader who can be projected as a viable alternative to Narendra Modi in the 2024 General Election.”:
The TMC’s effort to establish its primacy in the Opposition, according to Zoya Hasan (Professor Emerita, Centre for Political Studies, JNU) “has thrown a spanner in the gruelling process of building a united opposition front. Opposition unity to fight the BJP seems to have become harder…….” This will eventually benefit the “BJP because the TMC is entering states where it is directly challenging the Congress first rather than taking on the BJP. Right now, it is keener on splitting the anti-BJP vote rather than unifying the Opposition which would give an advantage to the BJP in states in which the main contest is between the BJP and Congress.”
Difficult for TMC to occupy Congress space; At the same time, Mamata Banerjee aims to occupy the Congress space, will ‘not be easy for her party to become electorally viable in states where it has no social base or party organisation. Barring a few leaders, none of the new entrants carry much political weight in their respective states; most of them lack local ground support and will be unable to help in the expansion of the TMC in Haryana, Bihar or Uttar Pradesh. Its seat share will not increase significantly in 2024 unless it can win seats in these and other Hindi speaking states or the non-Hindi speaking states of southern and western India where it will find itself pitted against regional parties. Even if the TMC wins a larger number of Lok Sabha seats in 2024, its claim to be recognised as the principal Opposition party will not have the desired credibility for the simple reason that the Congress has a much larger national footprint and vote share…..”
Opposition parties face the challenge of competing on an electoral playing field that is structurally skewed in favour of the BJP. “The question in these circumstances is how Opposition parties will be able to take on the ruling party. The ability of Opposition parties to cooperate and form coalitions is a key determinant of their success. In India, things are going in the opposite direction presently. Eventually, Opposition parties will have to join hands as a divided Opposition will benefit the ruling party, making it easier for it to return to power in 2024."
