Strategic Missteps and Internal Conflicts Fuel BJP’s Dominance
IT IS OBVIOUS that for any truly democratic country, an effective and responsible opposition is essential. Unfortunately, in India, the opposition has been failing the country over the last decade, mainly due to its own misdoings, although that should not take away credit from the Bharatiya Janata Party for its strategic planning and execution.
Top opposition leaders appear to be groping in the dark, repeatedly making irresponsible statements and causing self-inflicted wounds. Evidently, they have not learned lessons from the past.
The three consecutive humiliating defeats in Haryana, Maharashtra, and Delhi for the INDIA alliance should have been a wake-up call for the opposition.
In Haryana, the dominant Congress was so confident of a landslide victory that it paid no heed to its alliance partner, the Aam Aadmi Party, and decided to contest alone. As a result, Congress lost with less than one percent vote share compared to the BJP, while AAP garnered 1.5 percent of the votes. The outcome could have been substantially different if the two partners had joined hands.
No political party can exist without the hunger for power needed to implement its agenda.
AAP paid back Congress in the same coin in Delhi, causing immense damage to itself and losing the election. Not only that, but almost all of its top leadership had to bite the dust. Percentage-wise, the story was repeated in Delhi, where AAP secured just two percent fewer votes than the BJP, while Congress gained two percent compared to the previous assembly elections.
In Maharashtra too, the INDIA alliance squandered an opportunity to wrest power due to various reasons, including squabbles over seat-sharing. The failure to declare Uddhav Thackeray as the chief ministerial candidate could have been another reason for the alliance’s defeat.
Earlier in Gujarat, the absence of an alliance between Congress and AAP led to the latter taking away 13 percent of votes that might have gone to Congress.
Of course, there is no guarantee that the opposition alliance would have won if the different parties had joined hands, as votes do not necessarily transfer from one party to another simply because of an alliance. It is not certain that the votes garnered by AAP would have gone to Congress in Haryana or vice versa in Delhi, but a cohesive opposition would have definitely fared better.
Congress, which improved its Lok Sabha tally last year, appears to have gone back into its shell after the three consecutive defeats in Haryana, Maharashtra, and Delhi.
Indeed, the humiliation in Delhi, where it failed to open its account in the last three elections, must be demoralizing, but there is no visible sign of introspection or any attempt to rejuvenate the party.
BJP, on the other hand, deserves credit for planning in advance and maintaining its hunger for power. It timed the budget for the Delhi elections and made special provisions for Bihar in the same budget, where elections are due later this year.
Significantly, Congress was held responsible for the alliance losing the previous Bihar elections in 2020. Congress had insisted on contesting 70 seats but won only 19, and the alliance lost by merely 12 seats.
Unfortunately, opposition leaders continue to make irresponsible statements that can only harm them. The massive crowds of devotees at the Kumbh reflect the enormous faith that crores of citizens have in taking a dip during the Mahakumbh. According to official figures, the estimated number of adults in the country is 98 crore, while 63 crore visited Prayagraj for the holy dip.
Yet former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav called it “faltu,” and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee questioned whether it was Mahakumbh or “Mrityu Kumbh.” Surely, such statements will only damage these leaders’ credibility.
Rahul Gandhi and his coterie have gone into hibernation after the humiliating defeat in Delhi. The party is in shambles. It needs to put its house in order. Besides an overhaul of its central leadership, the party must strengthen its state units and activate its grassroots-level workers. No political party can exist without the hunger for power needed to implement its agenda. Congress is facing an existential crisis. It’s time to wake up. 
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Vipin Pubby
The author, a freelance journalist, is a former Resident Editor of Indian Express, Chandigarh, and reported on the political developments in Jammu and Kashmir, North-Eastern India, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab in his long, illustrious career.
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