Where is India’s opposition coalition?

India’s opposition parties meeting initiated recently by Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee to select the presidential candidate has miserably failed without any concrete decision. Neither a decision was taken nor any candidate has been announced. Their reason is that the meeting was incomplete in the absence of main alliance like the Janata Dal (United) (JD(U)) Chief Minister of Bihar, Nitish Kumar. He skipped the meeting and chose to have lunch with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi instead. Naveen Patnaik of Biju Janata Dal and K Chandrasekhar Rao of the Telengana Rashtria Samiti also did not attend. The behaviour of these parties clearly portrays a gloomy picture of their intensity and consistency for a strong coalition. But, what is the reality? The Opposition is in disarray.

They have wasted three years, but still there is no strong opposition. Pity, the opposition is lacking imagination, they have a deficit of ideology and a deficit of vision and unity. They have no strategy to face the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The opposition coalition first should form a ring of consensus among themselves. They should have a clear understanding, remove their bitterness, bury their differences and strengthen their concurrence. They should have openness and frame their unity like a battalion facing the enemy. More importantly they have to come out of their mindset that the bubble of Modi, a powerful leader, occupying a hegemonic position, will burst on its own. On the contrary, the ruling BJP government is thrashing its every opposition party, be it regional or national.

For a healthy democracy the country needs a strong opposition. A scattered opposition is not effective. Mere rhetoric and day-in day-out rants on the BJP will not yield results. Support the government on national issues, do not oppose issues for the sake of opposing. Stop playing divisive politics and come-up with constructive strategies for 2019. This will definitely yield results to face Modi.

- The reader is an office manager in a private company in Abu Dhabi.