The victory of Ahmed Patel in Gujarat Rajya Sabha polls and Congress swiping away all the seats in Mandsaur, Madhya Pradesh in the local body polls has definitely boosted the morale of the party, which it was badly in need of.
Ahead of the General Elections due in 2019, quite a few states will be holding the assembly polls in 2017-18. Now with the party re-energised and boosted confidence has geared up for the election campaign, especially focusing on the BJP-ruled states.
A Save India’s composite culture was organised by rebel JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav on Thursday in Delhi to discuss his next political move and unite the opposition against Narendra Modi led government and seeking revenge against Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for forming a new government in alliance with BJP. The programme was attended by 14 opposition parties.
Following the initiative of Sharad Yadav, Congress High command Sonia Gandhi will soon constitute a coordination committee in consultations with her counterparts in other parties. The committee will coordinate and micro manage the united programmes of the Opposition. The idea behind forming this committee is to stage the unity of the opposition beyond the floor of Parliament and pool their combined political energy against BJP-RSS. The suggestion of forming a unit was given by Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Thursday during the Save India’s composite culture programme.
Meanwhile, other than Congress, Sharad Yayad is also openly criticising the move of Nitish Kumar and planning to split the party and form alliance with RJD-Congress. RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav is also organising a grand rally on 27 Aug to demonstrate opposition against the NDA government and the atrocities it is employing on the minorities and backwards. Many Opposition parties will be sharing the platform with Lalu.
The committee formed by Sonia in coordination with other opposition parties will be focusing on the states which are bound to go for polls this year including Gujarat. Joint political programmes will be organised to inform the people about the bad governance and the unfulfilled promises of the incumbent government. Congress is the main opposition party in Gujarat where BJP has been ruling for almost 4 decades. The party has decided to take the initiative to host a united Opposition programme by the beginning of September.
The combined Opposition is planning events in the capitals of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, where BJP government face polls next year, along with Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. During the joint rallies and other programmes, the Opposition will also highlight the issues of farmers, unemployment among youth, activities of fringe outfits owing political allegiance to the Sangh Parivar, and the concerns of Dalits and minorities.
The main agenda of this joint opposition programme is not just to expand their unity beyond the floor of Parliament but also allow it to work towards its larger goal of trying to prop up an anti-BJP alliance ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.