- The Indian political landscape will gear up for the ensuing all-important Lok Sabha elections scheduled in Apr-May 2024. Not for nothing the Lok Sabha elections are termed as the mother of all elections since they don’t get bigger than the parliamentary elections where the fortunes of two national parties and their allies will be decided. As you are aware, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance successfully contested two successive elections and will be vying for the third term in the Lok Sabha polls. The Grand Old Party-led United Progressive Alliance too will leave no stone unturned while attempting to not only stop the NDA juggernaut but also emerge as a viable alternative to assume power at the Centre.
PC: TOI
- You must be aware how Congress got a huge fillip in the recently concluded state assembly elections in Karnataka when it overwhelmingly defeated the BJP by gaining unprecedented majority seats. Thus, the Congress party appears rejuvenated and believes it can take on the might of the BJP by positioning itself as the primary opponent amid several other equally strong regional players. The opposition unity meeting that was held in Patna, Bihar had 17 diverse political parties opposed to the BJP attend to chalk out a common agenda to stall the BJP’s unhindered progress. Interestingly, many parties that attended the meeting had only one MP representing them, and one party had none. But the political exigencies dictate these parties’ allies.
- There was yet another meeting of opposition parties that was held in Bengaluru, Karnataka to further the common agenda to present a strong case against the NDA. People in the know would agree how the BJP’s electoral machinery keeps chugging along relentlessly. There are crucial state elections lined up viz. Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, and Chhattisgarh before the Lok Sabha polls. As such, the BJP would make every possible attempt to forge alliances that would serve its quest to clinch the Lok Sabha elections for the third time. We have witnessed how Maharashtra politics has grabbed national headlines courtesy of splitting/defections engineered by the BJP. Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar joining the BJP is the resultant outcome of such moves.
PC: Ninad Vijayrao Deshmukh
- The experiment will be repeated elsewhere to lure away potential allies to join the NDA front. Talks are already afoot with Chirag Paswan’sLokJanshakti Party (Ram Vilas) in Bihar, Deve Gowda-led JD(S) in Karnataka, and with some such like-minded parties elsewhere. The BJP senses that the opposition’s aggressive efforts to present a formidable force might require even more belligerent countermoves to ensure minimal obstacles leading up to the big elections. The BJP leadership will be content to note that many regional opposition parties have a direct fight with Congress in some states. For instance, West Bengal and Delhi readily come to mind. Will the disparate opposition parties succeed in presenting the BJP-led NDA as a formidable challenge? Time alone knows.
