Bengaluru: Opposition leaders of 26 political parties are all set to formalise the shape of a united front against the Bharatiya Janata Party on July 18.
The opposition summit at the Taj West End in Bengaluru is the second such meeting of opposition parties, after initial discussions were held between the parties in Patna on June 23. Since then, the opposition front has already got a shot up, with all of them agreeing to the idea of forging an ideological and issue-based alliance against the BJP ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The number of participating parties has also increased from 17 in Patna to 26 in Bengaluru.
The fact that some of these parties are not in a position to contest the Lok Sabha polls together in a few states like West Bengal and Kerala has not deterred the leaders from finding common ground as far the opposition’s campaign pitch is concerned. The opposition leaders have agreed to showcase their unity in the upcoming monsoon session of the Parliament and are likely to draw up a common agenda to set the stage for the Lok Sabha polls.
The BJP, too, has suddenly decided to hold a meeting in Delhi on July 18 with the National Democratic Alliance’s constituents. However, its former allies like the Telugu Desam Party, Janata Dal (Secular) and Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) are still non-committal about joining the NDA. As a result, the meeting will most likely be dominated by the BJP. Although the BJP has claimed that the meeting is likely to be attended by 38 parties, most of the current NDA constituents are small caste-based outfits in different states, regional parties in the north-eastern states, and factional groups that have emerged from the Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party.
As the meetings go on today, here are the nine major factors at play.
1. The opposition meeting is an unprecedented effort by leaders of influential regional and national political parties to come together against what they allege is growing authoritarianism, political takeover of institutions, misuse of central investigation agencies against opposition leaders, and issues like price rise, corruption and unemployment under the Narendra Modi regime.
2. Unlike a similar effort in the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the opposition forces have focused heavily on striking a rapport between different parties while trying to iron out the differences much before the actual campaign kicks off. The tagline for the front is likely to be “United We Stand”, as has been highlighted in posters and banners across the streets of Bengaluru ahead of the opposition meeting.
Opposition leaders in Bengaluru on Tuesday. Photo: Special arrangement
3. Some reports indicated that the opposition parties will decide on having a central secretariat for the united front to coordinate between different parties. The secretariat will have a convenor and a president, likely to be Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar and former Congress president Sonia Gandhi respectively. The secretariat will spell out a common agenda, plan campaign strategies, joint rallies and programmes, and strive to arrive at a consensual seat-sharing formula ahead of the 2024 polls.
4. Leaders are also likely to finalise a name for the opposition front in Bengaluru. Sources told The Wire that the name is likely to be INDIA – Indian National Democratic Inclusive Alliance.
5. The leaders also believe that they should discuss the limitations of EVM and raise some of their concerns with the Election Commission of India and suggest a few reforms in the election process.
6. More importantly, the leaders have agreed to have a common minimum agenda designed around “safeguarding democracy, Constitution, and secularism” and livelihood issues like inflation and unemployment. The Indian Express reported: “Broadly the agenda comprises six proposals — setting up separate subcommittees for drafting a common agenda and communication points for the alliance for the 2024 general elections; chalking out a joint programme for parties, including rallies, conventions and agitations; deciding seat-sharing on a state to state basis; suggesting a name for the alliance; setting up a common secretariat for it; and discussing EVMs and suggesting reforms to the Election Commission.”
7. The opposition summit got a boost after the Aam Aadmi Party decided to join it in Bengaluru, after the Congress declared its unequivocal opposition to the Centre’s ordinance to wrest control of the bureaucracy from the Delhi government. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, who has been instrumental in bringing all the opposition parties together, reportedly convinced the Congress leaders to take a stand on the issue ahead of the Bengaluru meeting. Although the Congress had initially opposed the ordinance, its Punjab and Delhi units were opposed to the party’s unconditional support to its primary rival AAP.
NCP supremo Sharad Pawar also created a flutter ahead of the meeting by remaining conspicuously absent on the first day of the summit, raising questions about his position. But he soon cleared the air by announcing that he will join the meeting on July 18. Congress general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal said that more parties are likely to join the front in the future.
Opposition leaders in Bengaluru on Tuesday. Photo: Special arrangement
8. The meeting informally kicked off on the evening of July 17 when a majority of the leaders met for a dinner hosted by Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah. Leaders showed an unusual bonhomie during the dinner. All top leaders including Nitish Kumar, Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, Uddhav Thackeray, Arvind Kejriwal, Mamata Banerjee, Lalu Prasad Yadav, Sitaram Yechury, D.Raja, M.K.Stalin, Akhilesh Yadav and others were present at the dinner.
9. The 26 parties participating in the summit are Congress, All India Trinamool Congress, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Aam Aadmi Party, Janata Dal (United), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Nationalist Congress Party – Sharad Pawar faction, Shiv Sena (UBT), Samajwadi Party, Rashtriya Lok Dal, Apna Dal (Kamerawadi), Jammu and Kashmir National Conference, Peoples Democratic Party, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation, Revolutionary Socialist Party, All India Forward Bloc, Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, Kongunadu Makkal Desia, Manithaneya Makkal Katchi, Indian Union Muslim League, Kerala Congress (M) and Kerala Congress (Joseph).
The opposition front has kept some key players – like the Bahujan Samaj Party and Bharat Rashtra Samithi – who have been opposed to the BJP out of the grouping because of a direct conflict with some of the more important constituents of the opposition front in Uttar Pradesh and Telangana.