July 17, 2026

The Opposition: Divided They Fall But Unite They Will Not

By Linus Garg
First publised on 2022-04-05 09:33:56

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Linus tackles things head-on. He takes sides in his analysis and it fits excellently with our editorial policy. No 'maybe's' and 'allegedly' for him, only things in black and white.

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Sharad Pawar is of the opinion that given the reach and infrastructure of the Congress party, any national alliance of opposition parties must include the Congress. He also said that he has no interest to head the UPA.

While Pawar is spot on regarding the importance of the Congress in a national alliance, the present state of the party has made many regional parties, against whom the Congress fights in their respective states, to consider it as no longer of any political significance. Further, the top leadership of the Congress does not inspire much confidence among these regional parties.

Apart from DMK, NCP and Shiv Sena, most other regional parties are not inclined to include the Congress in any national alliance which takes shape. These three parties already have an alliance with the Congress so they naturally want it to carry on. But both K Chandrasekhar Rao of TRS and Mamata Banerjee of TMC, who are trying to stitch together an alliance of opposition parties at the national level, have clearly said that the Congress is incapable of taking on the BJP and is not fit to lead such an alliance.

There is also absolutely no buzz about including AAP in such an alliance. With its recent success in Punjab, AAP has emerged as a big contender on the national stage. In fact, among the smaller parties, it is the only party that governs two states. But surprisingly, of late, none of the other opposition leaders give any importance to AAP or Arvind Kejriwal. Apart from Pawar, none congratulated him on the Punjab victory.

With things as they stand today, there is little likelihood of a united opposition front emerging before the 2024 elections. There are too many contradictions and pulls and pressures. If Congress is left out then maybe DMK, Shiv Sena and NCP will also opt out and if AAP is also not included then the united front will just be in name. There is also no clarity about the positions of BJD and YSR Congress. The opposition will have to work hard and the top leaders will have to shed their egos and prejudices if they want to come together and pose a serious challenge to the BJP in 2024.