With less than 10 months left for the next Lok Sabha elections, top leaders of more than 15 political parties came together for a meeting in Patna hosted by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. The big message from the meeting was that opposition parties are united; they will formulate a common strategy to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, and that the next meeting of the grouping will take place in Shimla next month.
The meeting is significant as it was the first such broad-based session between opposition parties which have decided to come together and challenge the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the national elections next year.
“A lot of things will take final shape in the next meeting, including the issue of who will contest from where. There is a consensus and everyone has agreed to come together for the benefit of the nation,” Kumar said while speaking to reporters at a joint press conference in Patna on Friday evening.
Show of strength
The meeting on Friday was attended by almost all the key opposition parties in the country including Congress, Janata Dal (United), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Samajwadi Party (SP), Trinamool Congress (TMC), Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), the Left parties, AAP, and Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), among others.
From Uttar Pradesh, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), led by former Chief Minister Mayawati, was not invited for the meeting, while Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Jayant Chaudhary skipped the meet due to a family programme, according to a news report by the Press Trust of India.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said the next meeting will likely take place around 12 July in Shimla. “We have decided to sit together and make a common agenda, decide on what all issues we can take up. All states need to have a different strategy because what works for one may not work elsewhere,” he added.
Bihar’s former Chief Minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav also made a rare public appearance at the joint press conference. He reiterated the need for opposition parties to come together in the states to challenge the BJP in the national elections.
Challenges
All eyes are now on how the group strategises in states where two or more opposition parties, particularly the Congress, are in a direct contest. This includes states like West Bengal, whose Chief Minister (and TMC chief) Mamata Banerjee was present in the meeting, and Delhi, where the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is in power.
In the interaction with reporters, Banerjee maintained a united stance like other leaders who spoke. “We did a lot of meetings in Delhi but none of them were fruitful, so now we are looking at Patna. Three things are clear — we are united, we will fight unitedly, and the next meeting will be in Shimla. BJP wants that history should be changed, we want history to be saved,” she said.
Political analysts feel that while opposition parties are projecting a united approach, a lot will depend on whether they are able to go beyond the commonality of being anti-BJP and extend their solidarity to policy issues and strategies.
“It is good to say that these parties are united but are they united enough, and what are they united upon? Is their opposition to the BJP the only glue or does something else bind them together by way of alternative policy programmes and strategies for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections? A classic example of this is what AAP has raised today,” said Sandeep Shastri, a senior political analyst and Director of Academics at the Bengaluru based NITTE education trust.
Congress vs AAP
The meeting on Friday was not without its share of controversies. Shastri’s reference was to AAP protesting the centre's ordinance on the control of administrative services in Delhi. It told the Congress that the it’s silence on the issue “raises suspicions about its real intentions.” AAP leaders said they would rethink their participation in an opposition alliance with the Congress if the party doesn’t change its stance.
On Congress’ part, Kharge clarified on Friday before leaving for Patna that the decision on the ordinance will be taken before the Parliament session.
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