Has ‘Opposition Unity’ Fizzled Out? Ahead of Patna Meet, AAP, TMC Take on Congress, Others Staying Away

Two key opposition players, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), have now taken on the Congress in the last three days, putting a question mark on the wider opposition unity that is being attempted with the June 23 meeting in Patna.

AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal targeted the Congress and chief minister Ashok Gehlot at a Sunday rally in Rajasthan — a state where AAP plans to make a strong pitch in the state elections later this year. The Congress has still not come out to officially support the AAP on the issue of the ordinance brought by the Centre. Moreover, Kejriwal has been unable to secure an appointment with Rahul Gandhi either. Three days ago, TMC chief Mamata Bannerjee also warned that she will not stand with the Congress if it continues to ally with her arch-rival, the Left, in West Bengal.

Kejriwal and Banerjee are expected to come face-to-face with Rahul Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, and Sitaram Yechury on June 23 in Patna where Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is attempting to build an ambitious ‘opposition unity formula’ against the BJP.

Senior AAP leaders say they have presence in a dozen states and plan to take on both the Congress and BJP in the elections of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh later this year. This could bring it in conflict with the Congress, which may accuse it of dividing votes.

State Interests Paramount

Three other opposition parties, the Telangana’s Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), Andhra Pradesh’s Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Odisha’s Biju Janata Dal (BJD) are staying away so far from the June 23 Patna meeting, given they compete with the Congress in the states. The BRS, in fact, will be taking on the Congress and the BJP in the Telangana state elections later this year, with its chief K Chandrasekhar Rao recently saying the Congress should be dumped in the Bay of Bengal. TDP’s Chandrababu Naidu is said to be exploring renewing the alliance with the BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in Andhra Pradesh.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik did meet Nitish Kumar in May during the latter’s cross-country trip to gather opposition forces, but with the BJD having Congress as its adversary in the state polls, which may coincide with the Lok Sabha elections, reaching any understanding with the Congress seems difficult. Patnaik has always kept an equidistance from the BJP and Congress. In Uttar Pradesh, a key opposition player in Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has not been invited to the Patna meeting.

In short, the opposition may find it tough to strike a deal over Nitish Kumar’s formula of ‘one seat, one opposition candidate’ in six key states — Punjab, Delhi, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and West Bengal that hold nearly 125 Lok Sabha seats. The onus will be on the Congress on June 23 to strike a ‘wider understanding’ and not play big brother after the Karnataka election win.