INDIA’s first steps: Opposition alliance firms up. But long way to go

The 28-party INDIA alliance took a step forward in Mumbai on Friday by forming a coordination panel and a campaign committee. Of the two bodies, the coordination panel reflects a measure of the distance the alliance has travelled since its first tentative steps. The panel has two sitting CMs, MK Stalin and Hemant Soren, and the seasoned Sharad Pawar. KC Venugopal is the Congress nominee here. In terms of intent, it’s a sign the alliance is serious about mounting a challenge to BJP-dominated NDA.

That said, it’s still early days for the opposition alliance. Two daunting challenges loom. Lok Sabha elections are increasingly presidential in nature, which gives NDA a big advantage. NDA’s campaign will be built around Modi and the opposition alliance has its work cut out. This leads to the other challenge – the role of Congress, the only pan-India party in the opposition. Congress will have to hugely improve its performance in the many seats where it’s the primary challenger to BJP. In other contests, seatsharing talks in the alliance will prove tricky as many regional parties have grown at the expense of Congress. Consequently, ground-level coordination won’t be easy.

The key takeaway of the alliance meeting in Mumbai is that its constituents have shown the willingness to accommodate other interests, which is a prerequisite for a broad-based front. In this, they have proved sceptics wrong. However, there’s still work left on crafting a clear agenda that presents a realisable vision. A mere grab bag of welfare schemes and abstract slogans are unlikely to take the alliance far. If they can do all of that – a big if – the next Lok Sabha election may well see a keen contest.

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