The highly confrontationist approach adopted by the Opposition after the Lok Sabha elections has been toned down considerably in recent days. The INDI Alliance was greatly enthused after doing better than expected and this spilled over in its attitude towards the government afterwards. Walkouts and refusal to participate properly in important legislative discussions in Parliament became quite common. The grandstanding by Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, sought to project an uncompromising ideological stand against the government and the ‘Indian State’.
Events since then have divided the opposition on what strategy to adopt. The way things were going, the Congress and its leader were being projected as the alternative to the ruling party. This did not go down well with the other parties, which realised that the improved Congress electoral showing was mostly based on transfer of their votes. Also, the results of Vidhan Sabha elections held after the general elections have shown a trend that ignores national level opposition unity. As such, regional parties see little profit in playing second fiddle to the Congress with the exception of, maybe, the Samajwadi Party in UP.
Some experts are also of the opinion that the milder Congress behaviour in Parliament has been caused by the Trump victory in the US. The deep state backing from the US is no longer available – that surely must have brought down morale. Also, any party that has state governments to run cannot be in constant conflict with the Centre as that can mean financial and administrative difficulties.
The changed attitude has also been witnessed in the DMK’s stand on delimitation. CM Stalin not only sought to develop a consensus with other states on the issue but also adopted a milder stand on the subject by asking for ‘fair delimitation’, preferably two decades from now when population growth stabilisation would have taken place in the ‘BIMARU’ states. A negotiated settlement on this and other issues is very much possible with the Centre.
An immediate result of this change has meant that there has been more discussion in Parliament on important subjects that would have been ignored earlier. There remain contentious issues such as the Waqf Bill and the various demands regarding reservations, but there is neither agreement within the opposition on these, nor a willingness to come out openly in support. This fresh strategy is as it should be, for democracy works best when abiding by the rules and conventions.
