Multiple Oppn fronts may throw up a 1996 scenario in 2024

Mumbai: With the countdown to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections on, all major Opposition parties, including the regional forces, are bracing for a big political battle to oust the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, and a situation akin to 1996 emerging not ruled out.

Machinations are on in a big way for the past couple of years with several local, regional or national level 'conclaves' of Opposition parties being held at regular intervals, raising -- and then dimming -- hopes of the entire pack uniting to lock horns with the BJP and its allies.

The latest in the series is the effort by Trinamool Congress President and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, and Samajwadi Party President and ex-Uttar Pradesh CM Akhilesh Yadav, who have agreed to keep "equidistant" from the BJP and the Congress.

Banerjee plans to rope in others like Biju Janata Dal President and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik plus Bharat Rashtra Samithi President and Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao and other leaders soon.

Maharashtra's Opposition front, Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) comprising the Congress, the Nationalist Congress Party, and the Shiv Sena-UBT are closely watching the developments, with a few senior leaders wondering whether the new associations are coming up to take on the BJP or hammer the Congress!

Many parties from the other southern states like Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka, the Janata Dal-U of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Rashtriya Janata Dal in Bihar, the Aam Aadmi Party, and other regional forces are also monitoring the unfolding situation, compounding the confused scenario. The MVA leaders, particularly NCP and Sena-UBT have made it clear on record that "no Opposition unity is possible by excluding Congress", and junk theories of "Congress being isolated" or "Rahul Gandhi spelling doom" for the Opposition, and so on.

While admitting that there's no clear wave against the BJP, a Sena-UBT leader claimed that the current mood of the nation is quickly sliding to "anti-BJP", with the blatant attempts made to "finish off" the opposition or regional parties, the misuse of central agencies and the onslaught on all democratic institutions.

Concurring, a NCP functionary said that the BJP will be made accountable for mishandling of the economy, failure to control inflation and arrest unemployment, frittering resources on showpiece projects or mega-events, et al.

A senior state Congress leader, preferring anonymity, feels the scenario in 2024 would be daunting for the BJP at even more levels.