The biggest problem of the Congress is the success and stability of the first non-Congress government under the leadership of PM Modi.
As the country is heading towards the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the political arena is witnessing a futile exercise by some Opposition political parties who claim that they are coming together to dethrone the Narendra Modi government at the Centre. These political parties are in collusion, contradiction, confusion, conflict to compete with the BJP. They say that “none of us has the weight to defeat Narendra Modi alone, so we are coming together”. This bundle of alliance knows very well that it cannot defeat Prime Minister Modi, irrespective of the fact whether they fight alone or form an alliance. However, carrying forward the commotion of coalition is their compulsion.
The Congress and some other Opposition parties were under the same delusion in 2018 also, after the Congress’ good performance in the Assembly elections in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka. At that time also, some political proprietors were doing a countdown of the Modi Magic, but the Arithmetic of Modi’s success spoiled the Mathematics of the Modi opponents. The public gave a bumper mandate to Modi, as the BJP won 303 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. That’s why their current attempt to forge an ideology-less and directionless alliance against Modi is nothing but an “old copy with a new cover”.
It is for the first time after Independence that a non-Congress government has been successfully completing its two consecutive terms, ensuring good governance, pro-poor policies, prosperity and stability and is moving towards a third term. These last about ten years have witnessed inclusive empowerment and effective governance in India in spite of several national and global crises which included a global economic slowdown, the corona pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war and economic sanctions on Russia by several powerful nations, as well as tension in the Gulf nations. PM Modi has been tremendously successful at the domestic front even as some elements were on the job to defame India globally by raising the fear and fallacy of intolerance, discrimination against minorities and Dalits, misusing the farmers’ protest for their political mileage and denigrating the country’s Constitutional and democratic institutions. Removing all these obstacles, India became a strong global political and economic player.
When we look at the history of Opposition unity since after Independence, it took shape because of “failed government and ineffectual leadership” at the Centre. But the present situation is different. There is an efficient government and effective leadership at the Centre.
If we analyse the long-term or momentary Opposition coalitions, such an initiative was first taken in 1962 when China attacked India by trampling on Pandit Nehru’s slogan of “Hindi Chini Bhai Bhai” (Indians and Chinese are brothers). The Indian forces had to retreat on Pandit Nehru’s decision and India suffered humiliation which created an atmosphere of public anger at the national level against the Congress. India’s defeat in the war against China in 1962, the back-to-back failure of the Central government on economic fronts considerably upset the economy.
The tide had started turning against the Congress which prepared the ground for Opposition unity, which was reflected in the 1963 byelections to several Parliamentary seats when Opposition stalwarts like Dr Ram Manohar Lohia, J.B. Kripalani, Madhu Limaye, Minoo Masani and others registered victory. After Pandit Nehru’s death in 1964, Gulzarilal Nanda and then Lal Bahadur Shastri became Prime Minister.
India was recovering from the Chinese attack when Pakistan attacked India in 1965; the Tashkent agreement was signed after Soviet Union’s mediation and Lal Bahadur Shastri passed away in Tashkent under mysterious circumstances. Indira Gandhi took charge of the country as Prime Minister in 1966 amid the Central government’s failures at the national security and international fronts. The 1967 general elections were held under the shadow of the wars with China and Pakistan.
The Congress faced public anger and out of 520 Lok Sabha seats, the party won only 283 seats, just 22 seats above the majority mark. Several prominent Congress ruled states were won by Opposition’s Sanyukt Vidhayak Dal, which shattered the political monopoly of the Congress.
The Opposition parties emerged stronger in this Lok Sabha election. Jan Sangh won 35 seats, Communist parties 41, Praja Socialist Party 23, Sanyukt Socialist Party 23 seats. Swatantra Party won 44 seats and became a strong and effective Opposition presence in the Lok Sabha. The Opposition parties dethroned the Congress in nine states including Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal. Veteran Opposition leaders, Dr Ram Manohar Lohia, Ravi Rai, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Vijayaraje Scindia, Madhu Limaye, George Fernandes, Jan Sangh leader Balraj Madhok won and entered Parliament. However, this Opposition unity did not last long due to internal paradox and ideological differences and the Congress took advantage of the situation. The cruelty and barbarity during the Emergency including a crackdown on Opposition leaders with scores of them being jailed, brought them together on one platform in 1977 and the Janata Party was formed, which won 295 Lok Sabha seats. But the party and the government collapsed within two years due to internal conflicts and personal ambitions of some leaders of the coalition. In the next general elections, the Congress even gave the slogan “choose who can run the government” and in the 1980 elections, the Congress and its allies came back to power by winning 373 seats.
In the next few decades, the alliance experiments were either unsuccessful or disintegrated.
The Congress continued to raze the Opposition on the electoral field by claiming that only the grand old party had the ability to run a government with stability and it had a strong leadership too. The failure of coalition governments proved to be the political advantage for the Congress’ success.
In 2014, the political maturity of the people brought a coalition government to power, but gave a full majority to the BJP. The biggest problem of the Congress is the success and stability of the first non-Congress government under the leadership of PM Modi. Fixed in a family frame, the Congress always thinks that either a “government should be of dynasty (family) or dictation or on deputation (deputation)”, which can be remote controlled by the family. But PM Modi has demolished the dynasty’s arrogance and proved that democracy can deliver.
Unable to digest the stupendous performance of the Modi Government, the Congress has become the “designer of defaming India drive” by denigrating democratic and Constitutional institutions of the country. This Bharat Bashing Brigade has even colluded with some foreign elements, making them their partners in a prejudiced propaganda against India.
Today, the so-called Opposition alliance is struggling with an ideological bankruptcy. These parties know very well the Congress’ cunning character as far as alliance is concerned.
These Opposition parties are doing an acid test through their alliance but neither their chemistry nor their physics matches.
The Dynastic daydream of removing PM Modi will be defused by the democratic determination to re-elect him—it is visible everywhere. The mood of the nation is for a Modi hat-trick, by defeating the hate hysteria of the Modi bashers. The country’s voter is mature enough to see through an alliance of opportunism, with people of conflicting interests coming together just to remove a leader who has been democratically and overwhelmingly voted to power twice.
Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, senior BJP leader and former Union Cabinet Minister.