By: Lalit Garg
As soon as the new year starts, the activities of political parties have also started taking a new turn because assembly elections are to be held in 9 states Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Telangana, Tripura, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Mizoram this year and Lok Sabha elections next year. The Bharatiya Janata Party and other political parties have already started gearing up for the preparations for the Lok Sabha elections to be held next year. The kind of enthusiasm and self-confidence shown by the BJP in the two-day meeting of the National Executive held in the capital Delhi, it can be called natural and it is believed that along with this year’s assembly elections, the next year’s Lok Sabha elections; once again BJP is preparing to make a miracle happen.
The enthusiasm of the opposition parties is also not less. Once again national parties are seen getting organized in central and national politics. Even the smallest party has assumed that it will balance itself in getting power. Whoever forms the government, we will sit on the chair of power only on the basis of a few seats. In the way efforts are being made to make electoral moths, will the third force be able to become decisive? The impact of Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra can also be seen in these elections. In spite of all these situations and political calculations of manipulation, it does not seem that the opposition parties will be successful in creating any major obstacle in the formation of the BJP government at the centre.
The two-day meeting of BJP’s National Executive held in Delhi has given sleepless nights to various political parties. This meeting of the party has taken place at a time when not only the 2024 Lok Sabha elections are not far away, but before that assembly elections in nine states are also to be held. In five of these states, the BJP is in government either alone or with allies. In the two states where assembly elections were held this year, there is no doubt that in Gujarat, the party won a historic victory, but in Himachal Pradesh, the Congress’s morale has been high because of the one percent left unturned. BJP’s goal of being unbeatable was not achieved, which BJP supporters were expecting. In such a situation, it has become more necessary that the BJP leadership should make up for that loss by increasing the enthusiasm and morale of the workers. Not surprisingly, party president J. P. Nadda called upon workers to ensure that the party does not lose a single election in 2023-24. It is the role of the party to do something unique, to infuse enthusiasm and call upon the workers to make organized efforts.
The way the possibilities of party-breakup and alliance are being created to reach the power, due to this unimaginable possibilities are trembling in everyone’s mind. It is a good thing that the opposition should be organized, but this should not put a question mark on the existence of nation and nationalism. Will Rahul’s Bharat Jodo Yatra be able to unite political parties? Eyes are also on the political parties that will participate in his journey, but no such party has come forward so far. Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati has made the party’s strategy clear by announcing that she will fight alone in the upcoming elections, while the Congress has thrown the dice to assess the strength of opposition unity afresh by inviting opposition parties on January 30 at the conclusion of the Bharat Jodo Yatra.
Not only this, other small and big political parties have also become busy in multiplying the coalition politics for their political gains. On the one hand, another bet is being played in the Congress to bring BJP leader Varun Gandhi into the party and bring about a political union between the two brothers. This is also being done in view of the upcoming elections. Even if there is conflict in a democracy, there should also be meetings. Even if there is a difference of opinion, there should be a difference in objectives. There should be estrangement, but in a dignified manner. But the irony of politics is that now this basis of decency and political values has been put on hold. Enemies are not permanent in politics. Opportunism turns an enemy into a friend and a friend into an enemy. This is also being seen in a big way and as the time of elections approaches, these scenes will be seen in a big way.
Talks of alliance with new equations on the occasions of elections cannot be denied. But, the experience so far shows that behind these equations, there is less ideology and more political benefits. The country, which has been witness to the politics of alliances since 1977, has seen many equations changing. Sometimes BJP’s alliance with Chaudhary Charan Singh, sometimes BJP and Left parties indirectly join hands under the leadership of VP Singh to stop Congress. The BJP formed a government in Uttar Pradesh in alliance with the BSP and also ran a government in Jammu and Kashmir with Mehbooba Mufti. In the last Lok Sabha elections, the BJP contested the elections together with Shiv Sena, JDU and Akali Dal and may contest the next election against them in changed equations. But, it is a matter of concern that the direct purpose of such equations being created and deteriorating is not the basis of ideology, but only participation in power. The goal of strengthening political values and democracy is not visible to anyone. At the very beginning of coalition politics, there is a cloud of disunity and despair.
Realizing this, the Congress has not sent invitations to some opposition parties for the January 30, Srinagar rally. Neither Chandrasekhar Rao’s BRS was called nor Jaganmohan Reddy of YSR Congress. The Congress has distanced itself from the Aam Aadmi Party as well, and has distanced itself from the AIMIM and the AIUDF of Assam. By the way, the maths of the alliance of broad political parties of the east has also been unsuccessful; even now no broad possibilities are visible due to the longing for power and the ongoing struggle for the highest position.
The rousing appeal of Narendra Modi and Nadda is not just verbal, it is effective. BJP’s preparation to strengthen the organization is such, on which BJP has consistently shown its best performance. The BJP will surely show charisma in the elections by reaching 1.30 lakh booths, surpassing the target set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to strengthen 72,000 booths found weak. No matter how the opposition parties interpret the non-election of the BJP president, but from the point of view of the BJP, the decision to extend Nadda’s presidency till June 2024 would be called proper, far-reaching political thinking and maturity. Continuity is needed for the time being in view of the electoral challenges the party is facing. Another thing is that the BJP has largely maintained its main objective of raising the country’s image in the world.
The success in timely construction of the Ram temple will also work in favour of the BJP and the party will not hesitate to make full use of it in the next Lok Sabha elections. Development, employment and control of inflation will also be big issues from BJP. The party still considers the popularity of Prime Minister Modi as its infallible weapon, which the opposition has no match. Will the opposition parties also move towards such sharp and wide-ranging decisions and action plans? Will SP, BSP and Left parties share the stage with Congress? And if they do so, will they field a common candidate to stop the BJP? This question is because the experiments of coalition in the laboratory of politics have been failing only because of keeping ideology in check.
