A bumpy start!

The Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, is camping in Delhi to form an opposition alliance against the Modi headed BJP Government. The timing is perfect. Mamata is a giant slayer, just winning the state elections handsomely against the formidable juggernaut of the BJP electoral machinery. The opposition is rattled or angry over the Pegasus snooping, even though ordinary citizens are ignorant or dismissive about spying, with a retort that only the wrongdoers must be upset.

The past two day’s schedules gave indications of things in store for the Bengal leader. The opposition leader in the RS, Mallikarjun Kharge, held a meeting with other parties this morning in his chamber. The Indian National Congress, Shiv Sena, NCP, the left parties, Samajwadi Party, RJD, AAP, the DMK and most other opposition parties participated in the meeting, save AITC. Later, the opposition parties jointly addressed the Press conference outside the parliament, the TMC conspicuous by its absence, and none missing the TMC or its supremo.

Winning the State elections in one matter and staking a claim for national leadership is completely another one. Delhi politics is cannibalistic, and no one yields space. Gloating over holding hands high together in Brigade rallies by the opposition parties should not be read beyond logical and political interpretations.

I had written earlier that 2024 is a bit far away, and there is no hurry to flex muscles right now. Didi seems to be in a hurry; I even heard whispers that the BJP government could crumble soon under the Pegasus and Covid mismanagement issues. No, I do not think so. Unlike Vajpayee’s government, which had to depend on others to keep his government surviving, Modi does not have such compulsions, and his party has the numbers.

Mamata must target Delhi as a CM of a strong state and must focus on the state’s overall ratings, led by industrialization and unemployment. That seems a bit distant right now, with the state government’s avowed policy to not touch farmland for industries.

Bengal witnessed an incompatible alliance of political adversaries, the Left, the Congress and the ISF, with one motto, to defeat the BJP. Delhi’s political alliance is no different, which must work harder, and have a common manifesto, besides throwing out the BJP government, if they need the politically conscious Indian voters to look towards them as any possible alternative.

Sonia Gandhi, the interim President of the INC, will be meeting Mamata this afternoon, but a strong message seems to have been conveyed to her: ‘we need you together with us, and not to lead us.’

Sampath Kumar
Intrépide Voix