A re-united opposition camp is now making every effort to reap rich dividends from the recent developments related to Rahul Gandhi. The success of the Bharat Jodo Yatra and his subsequent disqualification from the Lok Sabha, owing to his conviction in a defamation case has provided fertile ground for opposition unity. Even parties like the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC), which had been moving away from the grand old party, seems eager to join the bandwagon as evidenced by their presence in the all opposition meeting. But in reality, neither the Congress, nor the opposition camp will benefit much from the Rahul Gandhi episode. Rather, banking on such issues may cost them dearly in all forthcoming elections, including the 2024 general elections and it may actually help the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies to further consolidate their presence in Indian politics. This is simply because of the fact that in-order to win any election, the parties have to set narratives to outmaneuver each other at the hustings. In this context, BJP is way ahead of other political parties as its development and nationalism narratives have been well-accepted by the people since 2014. So to dethrone the saffron party from power, the opposition parties will have to come out with a more attractive narrative to catch the attention of the people. The same old banal songs like democracy in danger or corruption will not get acceptance among the electorate as India has gone through such situations on many occasions in the last seven and a half decades, while the present opposition parties were in power.
So, if the opposition is truly interested in winning the electoral battle against the BJP, it should come out with alternative narratives that will accentuate the difference between the two warring sides. In 2014, for the first time in Indian political history an election was fought on the issue of development and by raising the plank related to the well-being of the people, and BJP had managed to checkmate the Congress. But during the 2019 general elections, the Congress could not set any new narratives and paid dearly for banking too heavily on the Rafale issue, forgetting the simple fact that a similar issue called Bofors was the determining factor in the 1989 general elections. This particular narrative backfired as the Congress is yet to clear the stigma attached to it. In hindsight, the party could have done well if it had stuck with narratives like ‘suit-boot ki sarkar’ (a government focused on corporates and not the common people). Further, the opposition should not indulge the thought of replacing BJP by merely coming together. Whilst the charisma and political acumen of Prime Minister Narendra Modi remains undeniable, the opposition has to look beyond its obsession with finding its own version of Modi. Rather it would be much more rational to build from the grass roots to match the organisational strength of BJP. This is why the opposition camp should raise people-centric issues to put up a stiff fight against BJP, rather than wasting its energy on issues related to individuals.
