The move of Congress and its alliance partners successfully thrashing out seat-sharing arrangements in crucial States like Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Gujarat and Goa will come as a welcome relief not just to the rank and file of the alliance partners but also to those who sympathise with the Opposition parties and the issues they raise.
The INDIA bloc announced that agreements had been reached with the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh and with the AAP in Haryana, Gujarat, Goa, Delhi, and Chandigarh among other seats where there were intense discussions and fears that the alliance would fall apart amid seat-sharing differences. For a while that threatened to be the case after Mamata Banerjee of the Trinamool Congress said they held out no hope of an alliance in West Bengal and after Nitish Kumar went back to the BJP showing a lack of confidence in the ability of the Alliance to effectively challenge the might of the ruling BJP.
The successful conclusion of the seat-sharing arrangements for major States is, however, only one step in the right direction from the Opposition’s point of view. Much of the journey lies ahead. The real challenge lies in now working cohesively on the ground synergising strengths and overcoming weaknesses.
Elections are won and lost on the hot and dusty streets of India aided by a cohesive strategy and a story to sell. The Opposition parties appear to be lacking in all of the above attributes to varying degrees and will need much more than a pact to not contest against each other in order to have any hope of denting the BJP’s formidable election machine.
In Goa too, eyes are on the South Goa seat that the Congress won in 2019 by a narrow margin of 12,000. This is despite the Congress and the AAP having both fielded candidates, but thanks in large part to the fact that the MGP was not with the BJP. Party honcho Sudin Dhavalikar, who was unceremoniously dropped from the Cabinet a few months earlier, had thrown his weight behind the Congress candidate. The Opposition will not have that advantage this time around.
Given this situation, the seat lies tightly balanced and a seat-sharing deal while helping the Opposition’s cause will in no way guarantee success at the fast-approaching hustings. For India to remain a democratic country both in letter and spirit, those in power need to be held to account for their governance. That can happen if there is a strong Opposition not only within the halls of Parliament and the State Assemblies, but also on the streets of the cities, towns and villages of the country.
Consolidation of power, suppression of dissent, jailing of Opposition leaders, and harassment of academics and scholars can only happen when those in power enjoy impunity which in turn is derived from the massive mandates that have been handed to successive governments since 2014.
To that extent, the Opposition parties need to realise that fighting for every seat is of paramount importance even if they ultimately lose the overall war as restricting or reducing the ruling party’s massive mandates will mean more than just a moral victory for democracy and civil liberties in the country.
