Prez poll: Oppn unity may prove a mirage, again

The ensuing presidential election is poised to generate a lot of interest. While the BJP wants to pull the carpet from under the feet of the opposition by putting up a candidate who would be acceptable to all, the opposition parties have been talking of forcing an election by fielding their own candidate.

This kind of political game is not new. But what is interesting is the competition between certain regional party leaders to emerge as the focal point, which may derail the efforts to unite them. The problem with all these parties always has been about being number one. While all leaders outwardly claim that they have no ego and that the issue of who should be the leader would be decided after the elections – as their motto is to defeat BJP – in practice, they want to be recognised by others as the leader so that they can either become the consensus PM candidate or get greater bargaining power.

While leaders like Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao want to create a 'sensation' in national politics by launching a political party called Bharatiya Rashtra Samiti, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wants to lead the entire opposition and it is said she, too, is in the race for the post of Prime Minister if opposition succeeds in defeating BJP which as of now appears to be a distant dream.

A strong opposition is must for any democratic country. This is what India has been lacking. Some of the ambitious leaders are even hiring political strategists. But still bringing opposition on one platform appears to be a herculean task. The reason is that the opposition party leaders are totally self-centred and egoistic. They have been tested in the past and people have no confidence in Khichidi governments anymore. Besides though being ruling party leaders in their home states, ground realities do not match with their tall claims.

The unity of opposition regarding the presidential election has already suffered a setback. While AICC president Sonia Gandhi has called for a meeting of political parties which are opposed to BJP on June 15 to discuss the issue of a common presidential candidate, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee also convened a meeting for the same purpose on the same day. Leaders like Sharad Pawar and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin, CPM leader Sitaram Yechuri etc., have confirmed their participation in the meeting organised by Sonia Gandhi.

Mamata took a unilateral decision to hold the meeting on June 15 which would only harm the efforts for forging opposition unity. Normally, such meetings are held after consultations. We have seen in the past how the former Chief Minister in the undivided Andhra Pradesh, N T Rama Rao, had held many conclaves of opposition parties. But before that a lot of pre-event activity used to be there. Several meetings with leaders of national and regional party leaders, both formal and informal used to take place.

The non-BJP leaders who have been accusing Modi of taking unilateral decisions are not able to prove that they are any different. Such attitude cannot unite opposition parties. It only indicates the hidden aspirations of such leaders. All anti-BJP parties have one goal to defeat BJP regional party leaders, particularly those who are in power in states, want to project themselves as the leader of the anti-BJP front. Such moves only expose the rift in opposition unity.