In a 95-minute interview to news agency ANI on New Year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi talked about a wide range of topics: from the morale of the BJP cadre after the party’s defeat in the assembly polls to the resignation of former RBI governor Urjit Patel, from demonetisation to Pakistan, from the ‘Modi wave’ to a Congress-mukt Bharat, from the Ram Mandir to triple talaq and Sabarimala, among others.
A highlight of the interview was how Modi discredited the mahagathbandhan (or grand alliance of political parties uniting to oppose the BJP in the upcoming general elections) as an opportunistic grouping of parties that loot the nation, speak in different voices and work against the people.
The major weakness for the mahagathbandhan is the track record of such alliances. The uncertainty it brings to a government is its biggest setback. Underlining this uncertainty, on December 31, BSP chief Mayawati warned to withdraw support to the Congress governments in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh if the cases against Dalits filed during the April protests were not withdrawn.
Given this, and the setback it had in Telangana, the Congress and its President Rahul Gandhi should reconsider its options in a grand alliance.
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