Nalin Verma 
As many as 24 parties are likely to attend a two-day conclave of opposition parties beginning from July 17 at Bengaluru, in Karnataka, to ostensibly zero in on a strategy to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party in the 2024 general elections. This is a significant rise from the 16 that had gathered at Patna on June 23.
The Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) of western Uttar Pradesh, headed by Jayanat Choudhary, which had skipped the Patna meet has confirmed its participation for the Bengaluru one. The Aam Aadmi Party which had attended the Patna meet but had skipped the press conference will attend the Bengaluru meeting as well, according to leaders of the Janata Dal (United) in Patna.
Though the Congress has not yet assured the AAP of its support on the Bharatiya Janata Party government’s ordinance nullifying the Supreme Court’s order to give the Delhi government larger control over the bureaucracy in the state, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar is believed to have “almost convinced” his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal.
Strategists working with Nitish Kumar said that the Bengaluru meet might see the formation of three working groups which will draft a common agenda for opposition parties with the polls in mind. The meet is also likely to decide upon a common name for the opposition alliance. The parties are also likely to discuss tricky seat sharing arrangements among themselves.
Other parties which are likely to attend the meet are the Revolutionary Socialist Party, Indian Union Muslim League, Kerala Congress (M), Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Kerala Congress (J) and Forward Bloc.
The opposition parties which are scheduled to attend the July 17-18 meet share 150 MPs among themselves in the current Lok Sabha.
Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi is likely to host a dinner for opposition party leaders at the end of the meet on July 18.
The meeting will crystallise how Congress – the largest national party in the opposition – sees its own role in solidifying the anti-BJP alliance.
Also read: 16 Parties Vow to Unitedly Fight the BJP, Hark Back to Patna’s Historic Role in Opposition Unity
Top four
The exercise to unite opposition parties, which began about 11 months ago, has witnessed a sharp increase in the stature of four leaders – Nitish Kumar, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, party leader Rahul Gandhi and the Rashtriya Janata Dal boss Lalu Prasad Yadav.
Nitish’s role assumes importance considering the open secret that his Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee is not ready to work with the Congress and that Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav too is uncomfortable with the grand old party in Uttar Pradesh. Nitish has made efforts to get these two parties with conflicting interests in respective states to join the common platform.
Mallikarjun Kharge has outdone his own reputation in displaying extraordinary political acumen in dealing with tricky situations within his own party as well as in the opposition.
Also read: Mallikarjun Kharge Shows His Mettle and Guile in Parliament
He brought victory for his party in Karnataka and then sorted out the differences between the Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah and his deputy D.K. Shivakumar. He has, ostensibly, worked to maintain a delicate balance between the Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot and his rival Sachin Pilot, and done the same between Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel and his rival turned deputy T. S. Singh Deo.
Despite losing his MP role following his conviction in a defamation case, coupled with the BJP’s continuous machinations against him, Rahul Gandhi has has made efforts in connecting with the masses, particularly agriculturists. Rahul’s popularity draws comparisons with his grandmother Indira Gandhi and photographs showing him with the farm workers in muddy fields must add to the discomfiture of Narendra Modi who often draws flak for his ostentation and extravagance.
Lalu Prasad Yadav was in jail for over four years ever since 2017. He underwent a kidney transplant after he procured bail. But when he participated in a political activity at Patna on June 23 for the first time in the last six years, he stole the show with the assertion – in his inimitable style – that he would ‘fix’ Modi. He made the audience laugh with his characteristic light talk.
Also read: As BJP Gears Up for 2024 Polls, Thrust Will Be on Modi as Statesman
BJP
That the BJP has stepped up using central investigating agencies and huge financial resources at its command is visible in Ajit Pawar and several of his colleagues in the Nationalist Congress Party joining its government in Maharashtra. Pawar and four others had the Enforcement Directorate hot on their heels in connection with cases of scams and money laundering.
Last year, Eknath Shinde, current CM of Maharashtra, and 40 MLAs had defected from the Shiv Sena to form a BJP supported government in Maharashtra.
Like in Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Goa and several other northeast states in the past, the BJP has succeeded in engineering large scale defections from the Shiv Sena and NCP to replace the elected government in Maharashtra.
The BJP has also constantly tried to split the JD(U) in Bihar. But it has failed with Nitish keeping his eyes peeled.
Nalin Verma is a senior journalist, media educator and independent researcher in social anthropology.