DNA Edit: Opposition in a crisis

As anticipated by political pundits and data crunchers across the board, Ram Nath Kovind has, by a large margin, won the presidential race, and will soon take office as the 14th President of India. His victory is a resounding affirmation of the heft that the BJP commands under the dual leadership of PM Modi and the party president Amit Shah.

Simultaneously, it is also a distressing signal for the Opposition to rise from its political slumber. Shorn of a strong base of party workers and voters, UPA’s chief constituent, the grand old Congress party is at sea when it comes to reading the minds of the electorate, and is desperately in need of a leader that can present a narrative that counters PM Modi’s development agenda.

Congress spokespersons, in post results debates, have not been remiss in pointing out that the Opposition was keenly aware that the numbers were stacked against them, and that this was a contest with an appeal to the conscience. It is hard to take any of these arguments seriously. Fact of the matter underlying the presidential elections is the receding clout of the UPA in the political landscape of India.

Opposition’s presidential candidate Meira Kumar received barely 35 per cent of the total votes polled. Nothing else could be a more damning indictment of the failure of the Opposition, which is expected to create an alternative for 2019 Lok Sabha polls. In Bihar, the Mahagathbandhan is already under strain as allegations of involvement in a land graft case are being levelled against Bihar’s deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav. Public pressure has come to bear on the Bihar CM Nitish Kumar to act on the allegations of corruption in the ranks, not to mention that the JD(U) members have repeatedly dropped hints that to Nitish, a clean image is equally important, if not more, to holding the reins of power.

While Bihar continues to be in turmoil, the opposition in Uttar Pradesh, chiefly BSP and SP, do not have their ear to the ground. Once the results of the UP elections were declared, Mayawati promptly attributed the loss to EVM manipulation. Behen-ji has shown a flair for dramatics when she threatened to resign from the Rajya Sabha. On the other hand, the Samajwadi Party has been reduced to a non-entity as it squandered away the overwhelming mandate it received in 2012. The President of India is elected by a college comprising MPs from both houses of Parliament and MLAs from state assemblies. The result of the presidential poll shows that the Opposition has not only lost the election, but is also losing the plot.