Attacks and counterattacks.
There is still about a year until the next general election, but political alliances have already started, some quietly and some openly. The one that stands out is the recent meeting between Akhilesh Yadav, the former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh and leader of the Samajwadi Party, and Smt. Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister of West Bengal. If defeating the BJP and removing Modi was the prime objective for the two leaders, the takeaway from the meeting was something else: challenging the Congress as the leading face of the united opposition.
The Indian parliament faced a protest week and severe disruptions when the opposition stormed the well of the house and protested at the Gandhi statue. They were upset about the Adani issue and about Rahul Gandhi not being able to speak in Parliament. The Trinamool parliamentarians were conspicuous in their absence, protesting separately and away from the Congress. The BJP too protested, demanding an apology from Gandhi for denigrating India during his Cambridge speech.
Didi may be peeved at the recent defeat at Sagardighi by election, when the CPM and Congress joined hands to defeat the Trinamool candidate. The constituency is a Muslim majority one, and they seemed to have turned against the TMC. The arrest and detention of the ISF leader, Naushad Siddiqi, for 42 days for their noisy protests at Dharamtalla, which were neither new nor different, showed that the present government has been turning a blind eye to all acts of arson by the ISF cadre, particularly during the anti-CAA stir.
A sudden change of heart by Didi in arresting Nawaz Siddiqi and sending a strong message to the minority might have boomeranged. In response, the ISF joined forces with the Congress candidate backed by the left and promised to keep working together against the Trinamool Congress in the 2024 elections. This can be a body blow to Didi’s party, as it always enjoyed maximum support from the minorities.
For the BJP, defeating Didi was high on the agenda, with their principles taking a backseat. Many BJP cadres may have helped the Congress candidate from the Sagardighi assembly seat win. Didi will soon meet the Odisha CM, Naveen Patnaik, whose relations with the Center have been cordial. What Naveen’s response would be is well known. There is another strategic mistake: opposing the Congress and its leadership. The Bharat Jodo Yatra has given the party a new boost, and Rahul seems recharged for a repeat yatra going from west to east India, which may not be honey to the BJP’s ears.
Didi will lose DMK, an avowed friend, if she keeps Congress at bay. However, despite being a political strategist, she is also a maverick, taking shocking and surprising decisions and making announcements abruptly. An example is her decision to run alone in the 2024 elections, soon after the Sagardighi defeat. Didi forgets that she is pitted against a formidable political adversary with deeper pockets to counter and ward off any attempts to dislodge the BJP government.
If true success is to be tasted, Mamata must join with all other opponents to form a front, which her advisors may not like her to do. The pressure from the investigating agencies unearthing scams and hundreds of crores of assets may not be comforting to the Trinamool party.
Sampath Kumar
Intrépide Voix
