United Opposition in 2024 National Elections? Why Bihar State Chief is Taking Up Herculean Task
For the past two months, Bihar state chief Nitish Kumar has been traveling across the country, meeting non-BJP state chiefs and leaders, and formulating the idea of united opposition for the 2024 parliamentary elections.
Nitish Kumar, who has been sworn in as Bihar state chief eight times, hinted that the opposition on 12 June will meet in Patna city to discuss a joint opposition strategy for the 2024 national elections.
In the past weeks, Kumar met Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge as well as Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal, Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav and Trinamool Congress' Mamata Banerjee, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha's leader Hemant Soren, and Maharashtra state leaders Sharad Pawar of the National Congress Party and former state chief Uddhav Thackeray.
According to Kumar, they had discussed possibilities of forming a united opposition or anti-BJP front for the general election in 2024.
Furthermore, Kumar is scheduled to meet the leaders of southern states -- Tamil Nadu state chief M.K. Stalin, Andhra Pradesh state chief Jaganmohan, and Telangana state chief Chandrasekhar Rao, a Janata Dal-United (JD-U) member confirmed to Sputnik.
"Nitish ji has taken a good initiative of gathering all opposition parties under one roof. We are on board with this and like how it adds up," Kejriwal commented following the talks.
Rahul Gandhi said: "We held a historic meeting here. Many issues were discussed, and we decided to unite all parties and fight the upcoming polls in a united manner. We have made this decision, and all of us will work for this".
Similarly, West Bengal state chief Mamata Banerjee took Kumar's side.
Why Did Nitish Kumar Take on Herculean Task?
72-year-old Kumar, with more than four decades of political experience, has been part of Congress and BJP federal governments, and sometimes protested against these parties.
Shekhar Aiyyar, author and political commentator, told Sputnik: “Kumar has clarified that he doesn't wish to be a state chief in 2027 and said that the state election will be fought under his coalition partner and RJD politician Tejashwi Yadav's leadership".
Tejashwi is Bihar's deputy state chief and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) member.
"Now, Nitish wants to explore his political inning in Delhi (or central government). Even if he fails, he would be a prominent face in parliament (if he wins)", Aiyyar said.
Author Nalin Verma said that although Kumar said he has no aspiration to be the prime ministerial face, he is on good terms with all the parties.
"Many factors are backing Kumar – Bihar has one of the largest numbers of seats in parliament. Congress is supporting him, and most of the regional leaders are not talking to each other's -- Kumar is taking that initiative", Verma said.
Old Wine in New Bottle?
In 1975, then-Prime Minister and Congress leader Indira Gandhi announced a national emergency that lasted until 1977.
The idea of a united opposition first arose when Indira Gandhi announced the parliamentary election. The idea was not just new to people, but to political parties too.
As a result, in March 1977, Morarji Desai took oath as India's first non-Congress prime minister.
In the 2004 general election, the opposition, including Congress, had no prominent leader to take on the BJP's stalwart leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who had 50 years of experience in electoral politics.
With a bleak hope, Congress reached out to many parties. But no party other than -- Rashtriya Janata Dal and Dravida Munnetra Kazagham -- supported it. However, after the election, the Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, and the Left Front supported Congress following the results were out.
Meanwhile, in 2014, an attempt was made to form a third-front (anti-BJP and anti-Congress in 2014).
In 2019, Telangana state chief Kalvakuntla Chandrashekar Rao's (KCR) formed an ambitious plan to create a third front, but discreetly withdrew, after getting a lackadaisical response from others.
In 2022, he met several opposition leaders with similar hopes – but he was not responded to with much willingness from other leaders.
Arvind Kejriwal Seeks Support on Service Ordinance
Meanwhile, Delhi state chief Arvind Kejriwal is touring all around the country and holding meetings with opposition parties, asking them to join him against the central government's ordinance related to the transfer and posting of bureaucrats.
The federal government in May issued an ordinance making the Delhi lieutenant governor the final authority to make decisions about postings and transfers of Delhi officials. The move came after the Supreme Court of India passed an order saying that the Delhi government has control over the bureaucrats assigned to departments under its purview.
Delhi’s ruling party, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), called the ordinance the "killing of democracy".
Kejriwal is seeking support from the opposition to stand against the ordinance when it is presented in the Rajya Sabha (upper house of the parliament). The BJP alone does not have enough numbers to pass the ordinance in the Rajya Sabha.
However, if a few parliamentarians remain absent or favour BJP, the ordinance can be easily passed into law.
In principle, many political parties, including Congress, have agreed to support the AAP.
Not All See Success
Yogendra Yadav, a psephologist and politician, believes that the opposition parties should first focus on the state level rather than dreaming of a "united opposition".
"There are many questions, ifs, and buts about grand opposition – what will be these parties' agendas, and who will lead the opposition? Moreover, the formation of such is very normal before elections. However, real talks happen after election results. Let's wait for that", Yadav said.
Meanwhile, the BJP has attacked Nitish Kumar for his move to unite the opposition to challenge Narendra Modi and the BJP.
BJP's Bihar state president, Samrat Choudhary, told Sputnik over the phone that: "BJP's federal government will be formed in 2024, and we will win the election with a huge margin", adding, "Kumar is meeting many state chiefs these days. However, it is unclear what he aims, and he's playing the role of a middleman".
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