After keeping the ruling party away from an absolute majority in the Lok Sabha elections, the enthusiastic opposition INDIA alliance now seems to be struggling with internal differences. Recent election results in states like Haryana, Delhi and Maharashtra have raised questions on the strength of the alliance. Especially the defeat in the local body elections in Maharashtra has further increased the dissatisfaction among the allies. In this situation, lack of communication and strategic disagreements within the alliance have come to the fore.
Rajya Sabha MP from Maharashtra and senior leader of Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) Sanjay Raut has raised serious questions on the working style of the alliance. He says that this alliance is active only during the Lok Sabha elections and the rest of the time there is no concrete communication between the allies. He said that meetings and strategy discussions start only when elections approach, whereas in normal times, alliance activities almost come to a standstill.
Raut also said that just registering protest in Parliament will not bring any major change. He alleged that opposition leaders do not get adequate opportunity to present their views in Parliament, and even Rahul Gandhi is sometimes prevented from speaking. In such circumstances the effectiveness of the opposition becomes limited. He stressed that the alliance should remain active both inside and outside the Parliament and continuously raise its voice on issues related to the public.
He expressed the need to jointly put pressure on the government on sensitive issues like farmers’ problems, law and order situation and Manipur. Raut warned that if the alliance remains active only formally and does not take any concrete initiative at the grassroots level, it may suffer political losses. He said that many times the allies do not even talk to each other for months or years, due to which the unity of the alliance weakens. He expressed the wish of all the leaders including Uddhav Thackeray that the alliance should remain active and organized at all times.
On the questions being raised regarding the leadership of the alliance, Raut said that different leaders may have different opinions in this regard. Some people like Mamata Banerjee or M.K. There is talk of handing over the leadership to Stalin, but any decision on this can be taken only after a formal meeting.
This year, elections are going to be held in many states including West Bengal and Assam, the dates of which can be announced soon by the Election Commission of India. In such a situation, the biggest challenge before the opposition is to maintain its unity and move forward with a common strategy.
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