Banking on acronyms a losing proposition

‘Ek Akela Modi Sub pe Bhari’. If Modi is so strong then why did he seek the support of 38 parties? This is what bothers the opposition more than the problems faced by the common man. It is a pathetic situation to see that even the senior most politicians refuse to behave in a matured manner and are not practical in their outlook.

Some say Modi has gathered 38 parties and most of them do not have even a single MP. But why do they forget that they have some percentage of votes with them and that can tilt the balance.

Well, that apart what is most important question the team 26 needs to answer is how they can allow their partners to have a dual policy on issues like ‘Vande Mataram.’ Congress has many white-haired intellectuals. Why can’t they hammer into the minds of the leaders of Samajwadi Party that ‘Vande Mataram’ has nothing to do with any religion, caste, creed or community.

‘Vande Mataram’ simply means paying obeisance to motherland. Samajwadi MLAs won’t say ‘Vande Mataram.” But at the same time, Abu Asim Azmi, the Samajwadi Party MLA, pointed out that, “not saying ‘Vande Mataram’ does not reduce my respect for my country and my patriotism.” How does it reduce patriotism if one says ‘Vande Mataram?’ which scripture says this word belongs to a religion? Why can’t Congress take a stand on this? Where does religion come into the picture in paying obeisance to one’s motherland? The Congress party which screams at top of their voice in Parliament and takes lead in derailing the proceedings is silent on this.

Equally flippant was the move of the team 26 to commission a survey on the acronym for Opposition alliance – I.N.D.I.A. They should instead have studied people’s reactions to their programmes and policies. It amounts to saying Opposition should win, because I.N.D.I.A cannot lose. It is fallacious to hope voters would choose them just because the acronym rakes up patriotic feelings. It also reminds one of what D K Barooah had said: ‘India is Indira.’ It became a mantra for Congress quite nauseatingly, showing their servility. The first mistake the consortium of 26 parties are making is to misuse the acronym of INDIA. They had better focus on key issues to win the confidence of people.

Even before takeoff, the plane seems set for grounding, with disunity rearing its ugly head so soon. The left parties like CPM and the Congress party have made it clear they will not have any understanding with TMC in West Bengal. Still Mamata calls Rahul as ‘favourite leader’. What kind of dichotomy is this and how can such parties expect that people are blind and vote for them? It does not mean the NDA, or its allies are purest of pure. Some of their allies also were in the list of those accused by BJP of corruption. It is only a shade different than team 26.

Before each party claims to cleanse the body politic, they should first cleanse themselves – their mind and their thinking. People would prefer to look at a party of group of parties which have positive outlook. Unless I.N.D.I.A takes a new avatar, this experiment is sure to crash as it happened in 2018.