Divided Opposition?
Several parties are gearing up to take on the BJP in 2024, but are they together in it?
Something is cooking up in the Opposition camp. Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s recent outburst against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his travel to Mumbai, his hour-long luncheon meeting with his Maharashtra counterpart Uddhav Thackeray, his hobnobbing with NCP supremo Sharad Pawar; all these seem part of a well-thought-out plan. KCR never hid his ambition to play a bigger role in national politics, but he shied away from taking on Modi in such a brazen manner in the past. In fact, the Telangana Rashtriya Samiti (TSR) often came to the rescue of the NDA Government in the Rajya Sabha when the ruling alliance lacked a majority in the Upper House in the past. But KCR has finally shunned his hesitation and unleashed what many would call “below the belt” diatribes against the Prime minister, mocking his sartorial preferences, and calling him a “man on no substance”. Taking his batter a notch higher, he didn’t even receive the Prime Minister at the Hyderabad airport when Modi visited the State to inaugurate the statue of Sri Ramanujacharya . The message is loud and clear: KCR was out to play a national role and would vie with Mamata Banerjee to emerge as the glue to tie the Opposition together. The Bengal chief minister
recently held a telephonic talk with KCR, during which the two leaders discussed the need to convene a meeting of Chief Ministers of the Opposition-ruled States to oppose the Modi Government’s alleged misuse of the Central agencies against BJP’s political rivals.
The rant against the alleged misuse of the Central agencies is not new. The real purpose of such an enclave is to discuss the framework to bring together the Opposition to dislodge the Modi Government from office in 2024. The recent meeting of poll strategist Prashant Kishor with Bihar Chief minister Nitish Kumar also seems part of the same strategy. Of late, the relation between the Janata Dal (U) and BJP has seen a sharp deterioration. The JD(U) has put up candidates against the BJP in both Uttar Pradesh and Manipur, and its leaders have been spewing venom against the saffron outfits’ programmes and policies. Similarly, the BJP’s Bihar leadership has been highly critical of Nitish Kumar’s prohibition policy. Sources close to Nitish say that the Bihar CM might open up his cards after the outcome of the UP polls. Indeed, the results of the Assembly polls will greatly influence the move to cobble together the anti-BJP front. If the Congress managed to retain Punjab and win back Uttarakhand and Goa, it’ll be difficult for the Opposition leaders to ignore the ‘grand old party’ out in the Opposition’s scheme of things, though Mamata Banerjee has gone on record saying the Congress can go on its own way. Under the circumstances, the million-dollar question before the likes of Sharad Pawar, Mamata Banerjee or KCR is whether to walk hand in hand with Rahul Gandhi or let the Congress row its own boat.
Source: The Pioneer
