An Opposition front is seemingly in the making, but its united impact on the BJP remains to be seen

It is best to think of the meeting of like-minded parties and individuals convened by Sharad Pawar and Yashwant Sinha as being exploratory. For, the invitation issued for the meeting is not clear about the real purpose of the deliberations at this juncture, who all are expected to put up a united political front to confront the BJP and the scope of the political strategy. The meeting between Pawar and political strategist Prashant Kishor preceding the invite gave rise to speculations in the entire Opposition camp. There is also ambiguity about the status of the Congress in this scheme of things because the invite did not go to the party but to three senior leaders who are part of the ‘G-23’ group. Prashant Kishor clarified that what they will look for is not the Third Front model. Be that as it may, the meeting comes just as the political parties gear up for the next round of Assembly elections, including in Uttar Pradesh. The second wave of Coronavirus has left most parties, in power in one State or the other, scarred by exposing their inadequacies in handling the pandemic. Both are good enough reasons for the politicians to take stock of where they stand individually and what it means to shape themselves into a united forum to challenge the BJP in 2024.

There is enough on the table even for an exploratory meeting. The regional parties are strong in their respective States, but lack national presence or relevance. Most of the leaders, save a few, do not have a national presence either. Many of them fight the Congress in regional politics. Some, like the YSRCP and the TRS, are partners with an umbilical rivalry. The true postures of these parties will become apparent in the next presidential election due next year. The national parties suffer from a shrinking area of influence even as they confront one another, like in Kerala, or are whipped by a regional force, like in West Bengal. Some of these parties are not even attending the meeting. Second, they will need to project a correct perception of their relations with the Congress. A non-Congress, anti-BJP bloc of regional parties is one thing. An anti-Congress, anti-BJP forum of regional parties is another. For, the latter, by definition, shares anti-Congressism with the BJP. The Congress, despite its dipping political fortunes, remains the fulcrum of anti-BJP politics, given that in both 2014 and 2019 it was the runner-up in upwards of 200 seats. It all depends on whether the Congress can retain Punjab and fare better in other States in the upcoming elections. The real issue, however, is coming up with an alternative to brand Narendra Modi’s political narrative that has an equal resonance nationally and a post-pandemic economic agenda. What the exploratory meeting can afford not to do is wait for the law of diminishing utility to eventually kick in against the BJP.