Congress calls for unity in opposition to take on BJP

In an opposition meeting called on Thursday, the 17 UPA parties met to discuss issues. The meeting was presided over by the Congress and Sonia Gandhi specifically. The parties missing in the meeting were AAP and BSP. This meeting came after the Congress victory in Rajasthan.

Matters of solidarity and unity amongst the parties was the main point of discussion in the meetings. The strategy was also planned ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in 2019. The meeting also reflected on the budget for 2018. Ms. Sonia Gandhi called for unity of the parties and suggested that they all must follow a common approach in all senses, both inside and outside the parliament.

The meeting also saw the coming together of TMC and NCP who stressed on the leadership of members like Mamata Banerjee and Sharad Pawar. Matters of importance also included the violence in Kasganj, how hate was the new topic of conversation. Issues of foreign direct investment, the constitution, unemployment, and inflation were also discussed at the meeting. The congress pointed out its concerns over the budget and how the government was still depended on schemes and not results. Mr. Chidambaram also called the budget, ‘defeatist’ and a ‘let down’.

Time will tell if this unity is seen and proves strong for all parties concerned. There is a long road ahead for Congress as this year goes by. There will be more foundation stones to put in place. Of course, such buoyancy comes after the victory in Rajasthan. The Congress still needs to be wary as the nation is still in the hands of the BJP. One will have to wait to see how both the budget and the opposition ‘unity’ play out in the future. At this point, a complete ‘unity’ seems highly unlikely and more utopian in every sense of the word.