Show of strength without unity
- The People's Chronicle Editorial :: April 02, 2024 -

EVEN though the "Loktantra Bachao" or save democracy rally held on Sunday (March 31) at the historic Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi is said to have demonstrated not only the strength of INDIA Bloc but also laid the roadmap for a joint campaign in the Lok Sabha polls, how this strength of the grand opposition alliance is going to be utilised to take on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies in the upcoming election to the 18th Lok Sabha is yet to be seen nor spelt out with any degree of certainty.

Held against the backdrop of recent arrest of Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the alleged Liquor Scam, many key opposition leaders of the INDIA bloc, including Mehbooba Mufti of Kashmir's People's Democratic Party, Farooq Abdullah of National Conference, Sharad Pawar of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP-Sharadchandra Pawar), Uddhav Thackeray of the Shiv Sena faction under his name, D Raja of Communist Party of India (CPI), Sitaram Yechury of CPI (Marxist), Dipankar Bhattacharya of the CPI (Marxist-Leninist-Liberation), Akhilesh Yadav of Samajwadi Party, Jharkhand chief minister Champai Soren of Jharkhand Janmukti Morcha, Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann of Aam Aadmi Party, Rajya Sabha MP Tiruchi Siva of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Lok Sabha MP Thol Thirumavalan of Viduthalai ChiruthaigaI Katchi, Tejashwi Yadav of Rashtriya Janata Dal and Derek O'Brien of Trinamool Congress were present at the rally.

Apart from the attendance of usual top Congress leaders like Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, it was truly a spectacle when Sonia Gandhi, who rarely makes appearance in political events now-a-days, turned up to show solidarity and walked onto the stage while the leaders were speaking to sit in between Sunita Kejriwal and Kalpana Soren, whose husband and former Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren too had been arrested by ED in another case earlier.

One common refrain in the speeches made by leaders of the INDIA Bloc at the rally was the need for coming together despite differences with each other for building a united political front to defeat the ruling Bharatiya janata Party (BJ P) and its allies in the upcoming election to the 18th Lok Sabha so as to stop alleged misuse of central agencies to target opposition leaders and "save our democracy".

However, rather than being carried away by the enthusiasm shown and the high-spirited speeches delivered by INDIA Bloc leaders from the pulpit of historic Ramlila Maidan, one needs a reality check to understand why it may be tall ask for the partners of INDIA Bloc set aside their differences and come together for a joint electoral campaign against the ruling BJP and its allies.

With only a few days left to go for the Lok Sabha polls, many of the INDIA Bloc partners are yet to resolve the seat-sharing issues among themselves. This fact could not be drowned out by the high-spirited speeches nor kept hidden when Indian National Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, who spoke at the end of the rally, directly looked at Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann of Aam Aadmi Party and Derek O'Brien of Trinamool Congress, and said, "We can't let our mutual differences dictate our alliance as we must be clear that this fight is not only for one election but for a much larger cause.

The opposition has to unite. The unity in diversity that we see in India also has to be seen in our alliance. Remember that the RSS-BJP is a poison. You can't lick it even once. Even that will bring you death. Whatever our differences are, we have to first learn how to become a united force. We will gain nothing by stomping on each other. Our fight should not be about one person. This is a fight to save our democracy."

Thus, the only challenge that stands before the INDIA bloc is to keep its partners intact, which unfortunately seems to be not the case despite the demonstration of strength for a joint campaign to take on the ruling party and its allies in the Lok Sabha polls.