Ambitions of regional parties will come in the way of opposition unity

The meeting of opposition unity has been concluded in Patna. At first sight it appears to be a successful meeting but there are some contradictions. It is possible that when the next meeting of opposition unity is held in Shimla, this contradiction will be more visible. Because there has been a difference in the temperature of Pataliputra and Shimla every day and even today this difference remains. In the post-meeting press conference, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee called for opposition unity to sacrifice their personal ambitions. But he also raised questions on the role of the Congress, the important pivot of opposition unity. According to him, the role of Congress in West Bengal is not right. In such a situation, how much his call to give up personal ambitions will be fruitful will also be clear in the meeting to be held in Shimla. By the way, Mamta has rightly said that personal ambitions have to be sacrificed for opposition unity. But it will not be so easy for the opposition parties to give up these ambitions. Because when Mamta was saying these things during the press conference in Patna, the important link of opposition unity Arvind Kejriwal, Bhagwant Singh Mann and MK Stalin were missing from the same press conference. This only proves that the leaders of the opposition parties will be able to sacrifice their personal ambitions so easily.

In the meeting of opposition unity, PDP asked ‘AAP’ and Arvind Kejriwal to clear their stand in the matter of abolishing Article 370 from Kashmir. While Mamta questioned the role of Congress in West Bengal. On the other hand, Arvind Kejriwal has asked the Congress to clear its stand on the Delhi ordinance issue. SP chief Akhilesh Yadav demanded that regional leaders be given leadership in the states. In such a situation, it is bound to arise the question that if these issues are not discussed then how will all the parties unite and contest the elections in 2024? Before the meeting of opposition unity, Jitan Ram Manjhi of ‘Hum’ has joined the NDA. However, joining Jitan Ram Manjhi in NDA is neither strengthening the NDA nor do I see any impact on the vote bank of the opposition. Yes, but Manjhi can prove to be effective in creating an atmosphere towards NDA in the Dalit-Mahadalit community of Bihar. The BJP has many swords in its sheath to woo the Dalits and Mahadalits. In which both the factions of Manjhi and LJP are prominent. If the BJP does not come under the grip of intimidation in Bihar, then it will definitely succeed in diverting the votes of Dalits and Mahadalits towards itself. Because after Samrat Chaudhary became the state president of BJP, the party seems to be divided into several factions on the issue of external and internal and one group is making all possible efforts to defeat the other group. The BJP will have to resolve this dichotomy in order to win Bihar in a resounding manner like last time.

Bihar has been the land of Satyagraha. The bugle of JP revolution was blown from this Bihar which influenced the political history of the whole country. Mamta Banerjee rightly said that the mass movement that starts from Bihar is successful. Champaran Satyagraha was a mass movement. JP revolution was a mass movement. But Mamta Didi has to understand that this meeting of the opposition parties is not for the people’s movement, but for gaining power. Whether it was Champaran Satyagraha or JP Revolution, it was not a mass movement just to get power. It also worked to bring about social change. All the veteran leaders who came to Patna to attend the meeting of opposition unity remembered Champaran Satyagraha and JP Revolution. Bihar has always been a hotbed of voices of resistance. Even if the power forgets Bihar, but the anti-power never forgets Bihar. But the irony is that even the anti-incumbents forget Bihar when they join the government. After the meeting of opposition unity, BJP state president Samrat Chaudhary gave a very bitter statement. He said that this is a thug of alliance. This alliance is trying to fool the entire nation. All are corrupt. Nitish Kumar should show his model of corruption. They do not know who is the face of PM. Laddus are bursting in everyone’s mind. Everyone is dreaming of becoming PM. Wearing each other’s caps. The statement of Samrat Chowdhary can be proved false only when the opposition parties contest elections by sacrificing all their ambitions. Mamta Didi knows very well that big ambitions of small parties can come in the way of opposition unity. He also has some ambitions which are very difficult to give up.

Addressing the press conference, Rahul Gandhi said that we have come without remembering the old incidents. Means there is no complaint in his mind now. In fact, the Congress is not even in such a position in Bihar that it has any grudge against anyone. Because if anyone has caused the most damage to the Congress in Bihar, it is not the BJP, but the RJD. And today the Congress is under compulsion that it wants to sail its boat across Bihar with the help of this RJD. In the same way these parties at the center are non-existent without the Congress. However, even before the meeting, BJP President JP Nadda tried to remind Lalu that Rahul’s grandmother Indira Gandhi had once sent him to jail for 24 months. In the meeting, veteran leaders like Lalu, MK Stalin, Akhilesh Yadav and Hemant Soren have asked to decide seats according to regional parties. There was also discussion on making a common minimum program for all the parties. This task is also not that easy. For this also Congress and other opposition parties will have to chew gram. Congress’s contradiction with regional parties in other provinces including West Bengal has to be removed.

Other small parties, including JDU, who today agree to make Nitish Kumar the coordinator of the grand alliance, are still bursting with the thought that Nitish is PM material. On the other hand there is Congress which hardly agrees to make anyone other than Rahul Gandhi as PM. In fact, the ambition that Mamta Didi is talking about, all the leaders involved in the Grand Alliance are victims of that ambition. Till the time of elections, in spite of lakhs of efforts, there will be visible clash of these ambitions. Because as the election draws near, these ambitions will also start getting louder. In such a situation, it is possible that someone may point a dagger at the back and someone may point a gun at the front.

-Sachchidananda Satchu