Task set: convince nation challengers will stay united

 PUROHIT, TT, 20 Jan 2019, Calcutta: Senior leaders from 23 Opposition parties agreed at the Brigade Parade Grounds on Saturday that a united fight against the Narendra Modi government alone could "restore democracy" and "protect the Constitution", raising the prospect of a nationwide anti-BJP front for the general election.

Virtually the who's who of the Opposition -- including a former Prime Minister and three serving and five former chief ministers -- had assembled at the United India rally, responding to a call from Mamata Banerjee.

"Everyone has come together for the sake of the country. The beginning of the end of the BJP started today from the Brigade…. They have passed their expiry date," the Bengal chief minister summed up after 22 speakers had stressed the need for a combined fight against Modi.

Most of the guests complimented Mamata for the initiative to bring them together.

The tangible outcome of the four-and-a-half hours the leaders spent on the dais was a decision to hold at least two more such conclaves: in Amaravati and Delhi, hosted by respective chief ministers Chandrababu Naidu and Arvind Kejriwal.

It was the oaths and optics of unity, however, for which the meeting stood out.

First, speaker after speaker emphasised that it was time to bury differences and together take on the Narendra Modi- Amit Shah duopoly. Several leaders cited how arch-rivals Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party had joined hands in Uttar Pradesh for the Lok Sabha polls.

Mamata equated the prevailing situation in the country to a "Super Emergency", saying it is worse than that imposed by Indira Gandhi. The Trinamul leader raised the slogan of "Badal do, badal do, Delhi mein sarkar badal do (change the government in Delhi)".

Second, most of the speakers underscored that the key to winning the voters' trust was to convince them that the Opposition had come together and would stay together.

Arun Shourie, former NDA minister and now a Modi-basher, spelt out the task: "People have lost confidence in Modi-Shah. But people have to be given the confidence that you will remain together." Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge read out a message from Sonia Gandhi who wished the rally success and underscored the importance of the occasion.

"The upcoming Lok Sabha elections will not be ordinary one. It will be an election to re- store the nation's faith in democracy, defend our secular ethos and heritage, and defeat the forces that are trying to sabotage the Constitution of India," Sonia said in her message.

Third, each heavyweight dutifully declared that who became the prime ministerial candidate was not the issue: the objective was a united battle against Modi.

"There is no need to think about (who will be) the Prime Minister.... We'll decide that after the election," Mamata said.

Fourth, the Opposition leaders vowed to stand by one another when the BJP let loose on them its "newfound allies" -- a term that, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav explained, referred to the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate.

Mamata said: "There is courtesy in politics, but the BJP does not follow it. Those who are not with BJP are called thieves." She said the Modi government had targeted all Opposition leaders who spoke against the BJP and had not spared Sonia Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav, Mayawati and herself.

Fifth, the messages from the speakers were very similar, lending credibility to the chargesheet they rolled out against the Modi government.

Each highlighted the pain caused by the demonetisation and what they described as the faulty implementation of the GST before highlighting the government's poor record in job creation. Repeated references were made to the Rafale scam, peppered with questions on Modi's integrity.

Sixth, almost all the speakers --- especially Jayant Chaudhary of the Rashtriya Lok Dal and Karnataka chief minister H.D. Kumaraswamy --- flagged how agrarian distress had spread across rural India, to be met with indifference by the Modi government.

Finally, although no prepoll alliance was announced or seat-share strategy discussed, there was broad agreement that the strongest Opposition force at each place would fight the local NDA candidate.

Former Union minister Yashwant Sinha suggested the idea of one Opposition nominee against each BJP candidate.

Saturday's event was just a "beginning", however, Deve Gowda cautioned in his speech. He underlined that the road ahead would be "difficult" and advocated regular meetings among the top leaders to sort out any differences.

When, at a news conference later in the evening, Mamata and the others were asked about their plans for a common agenda, they sought "some time".

Additional reporting by PTI.