Self-preservation motive for anti-Modi drive

The second-half of the recent budget session of Parliament witnessed the coming together of 18 Opposition parties on a common platform to seek a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) on the Hindenburg report on the Adani group and also to oppose the targeting of the Opposition leaders by the ED and CBI 'at the behest of Modi.'

However, the CPM is apprehensive that notwithstanding the bonding of these parties, there is little hope to expect a formidable anti-BJP formation in the country before the 2024 general elections. There is enough reason for this fear to be nurtured by the Left which usually does not let go of any opportunity in working for the strengthening of the anti-Modi front. These parties were also almost unanimous in condemning the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi from the Lok Sabha membership following his conviction and sentencing in a criminal defamation case by a Surat Court. Already some leaders of TMC, NCP and AAP are behind the bars due to investigations against them in various cases. There is a mortal fear among these people that if the BJP is re-elected for a third term, then their political future would take a very bad beating. It is in fact, this very fear is driving these leaders to vehemently criticise Narendra Modi. AAP leadership has shunned its initial tentativeness and started attacking Modi vociferously after it realised that the party's very future is all about to be consumed by the alleged liquor scam along that of the Bharat Rashtra Samiti of K Chandrashekar Rao.

Many more leaders could face the probe-music as the BJP relentlessly pursues its rivals at every given opportunity. What is it that the CPM realises as the biggest drawback? The CPM has recently summed up its apprehensions thus: " The most simplistic idea is to gather all the leaders of opposition parties on to the one platform which would then result in an all-India front of opposition parties.

Another fruitless pursuit is the zeroing in on one who could be the face of the opposition at the national level. Another tack is to advocate that the strongest opposition party in a state, whether it be a regional party or a national party, should be allowed to set the terms for an understanding with other parties which would ensure a one-to-one contest against the BJP and its allies. All these suggestions are far from ground realities and do not take into account the complexities and the diverse character of the opposition parties."

It should be admitted that the alliance being talked about is just a simple electoral alliance with none of the parties ready to forego even an inch of their space. In fact, there could be more agreeable points between the BJP and some of the major Opposition parties in the country on several issues rather than among themselves or with the Congress under the maverick Rahul Gandhi who lives in an illusory world of dynastic designs ably fed to him by his party's senior leadership every day.

None of the parties has any national outlook on any issue and only keeps talking loosely about federalism, democracy and liberty and freedom – none of which they are known to practise. Their primary concern is the investigations against their wrong doings. Again, none of these could relate themselves with the interests of the Congress whom most of the regional parties have replaced in the country. This could derail the Opposition plans, the CPM rightly observes.