Discordant notes don't augur well for Opposition
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Former UP Chief Minister and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has come out against the Congress on the caste census issue and criticized Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for demanding it. Akhilesh's criticism comes at a time when the opposition front, the INDIA Alliance and mainly the Congress, raise the caste census as an election agenda. Akhilesh has not let go of Congress' past which has ruled the country for a long time. The trigger for Akhilesh's criticism of the Congress is the failure of seat-sharing negotiations in the Madhya Pradesh assembly elections. The minor discord within the INDIA front has increased as a result of the criticism. The Congress Working Committee, which met in October, had decided to conduct a caste census in all states ruled by the party. The manifestos of the parties in all the five states where elections are held this month promise to conduct a caste census if they come to power. As the Sangh Parivar-led administration rocks the nation's foundations with religious polarization and anti-people pro-corporate policies, many fearing for India's future have been hoping for the unity of the opposition parties.
In order to realize the aspirations of the people, 26 parties with a strong presence at the national or state level came together and formed the 'INDIA' front, the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance'. All the main opposition party leaders unanimously declared that they are driven by the desire of the opposition to come together to oust the BJP from power, which is hunting the backward minorities and practising dangerous politics in the country. In subsequent meetings, the principle of maximum compromise was also accepted, including in seat distribution talks. Political observers predicted that the Opposition unity could pose a threat to the BJP rule if it stayed together and put their consensus into action, a feeling that sent jitters among the ruling front leaders and ranks who got confused. It in in the midst of this that fresh discordant notes are being heard. These developments are a relief to those who have set about changing the very name of India, fearing the INDIA Front.
It is a fact that very little of tne of the enthusiasm that was created during the formation of the 'INDIA' front is visible now. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had also openly expressed this. The only places where the 'INDIA' front is firmly established are Bihar, where Nitish and Lalu oversee matters directly, and MK Stalin's Tamil Nadu, where he is prepared to make any compromise in order to ensure the success of anti-communal politics. Conflict had already begun to arise within the Trinamool-Congress-CPM ranks in West Bengal by the time the leaders returned from their front meeting. Coming to Kerala, the most important factor for Congress-CPM is state governance, even if India is lost. Although Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said that the major priority currently is the assembly elections in five states and after that, the problems in the alliance will be resolved, the front constituents have not been able to stay together in these assembly elections either. The Congress could not reach an agreement with the Samajwadi Party in Madhya Pradesh and the CPM in Telangana and Rajasthan. The incompetence of the leaders in the respective states is hindering this. The state of affairs is such that by the time the state elections are over, the differences between the front constituent parties may intensify. At present, Congress is a party that more or less has roots in every Indian state. That party is also directly is directly taking on the BJP in a good percentage of places. As such, it is the Congress that has a moral binding to hold the opposition together and lead it forward. Therefore, the Congress has the responsibility to compromise as much as possible and carry forward the alliance in the states by any means. Congress and its leaders seem to have failed to understand this. The top leaders of the party should have at least considered the conviction and pain of ordinary Congress workers about the injuries inflicted on the country and our democracy by the nine-and-a-half-year-long Modi rule. If the potential and public sentiment are not realised, the opposition will only get more divided and the nation will become even more disorganised.
