Can a new alliance unseat Modi?

In politics, there are no permanent friends or foes, they say often. Telangana CM KCR was one of the active and close friends of Modi during the 2019 elections. Today KCR is very critical of Modi and his regime and he is hell bent to dethrone Namo. KCR perhaps thinks that all is fair in war, love, and politics. It is amply evident that right now a strong storm of anti-incumbent mood against the BJP at the Centre is gaining strength at the political horizon and KCR, like other political parties, wants to cash in on the mood. Will he succeed in his mission to see Modi in the Opposition benches after 2024?

KCR the strategist knows that right now no single political party is in a position to challenge the BJP and defeat Modi at the hustings. For well over two decades now only alliances of political parties have formed the Government at the Centre. The NDA, a combination of about 26 political parties, was in power at the Centre from 1998 to 2004.Then the UPA, a cornucopia of 15 parties was in power for two terms till 2014.Again since then the NDA has been in power under the charismatic leadership of Modi whose party won 302 seats in the 2019 elections. Now KCR and his team of supporters must win at least that number of Lok Sabha seats to see Modi out of power and form a 'safe' government, free from being poached.

The main grouse of KCR and his counterparts from different States and leaders of other political parties is that Modi's attitude towards his critics and the Hindutva agenda of the BJP are undemocratic and a big threat to our very secular and federal features of the country.They feel that all the minorities in the country are terrorized and they have been deprived of many constitutionally assured rights, freedom and protection. The Hindutva forces are encouraged by Modi's silence to indulge in violent attacks on minorities. To some extent, KCR and his supporters are justified in their views of the present dispensation at the Centre.

Hence they strongly feel that all these developments and happenings make Modi and his party unfit to rule the country. It is true that opposition to the Modi's ways of governing and advancing his agenda is gathering momentum both literally and figuratively from the East, West, North and South of the country! Mamatha Didi, KCR, Chandra Babu Naidu, Sharad Pawar, Thackeray, and other non-Congress leaders from UP, Bihar, Punjab,Jammu and Kashmir are willingly ready to join forces to defeat Modi at any cost. Will they succeed in their daunting mission?

Again,even if they hammer out an alliance, they have to stay together and wait for elections for full two years, with standing both internal and external tremors and temptations. Experts feel that Modi and Shah are also great strategists and they must have their own plans and tricks up their sleeves to counter these political threats. In such a war of wits, the likely outcome may be a'hung Parliament'. So we must brace up to witness a fiercely fought election chapter in the annals of our history.

M Somasekhar Prasad, Hyderabad