The idea of a united opposition is a particularly bad one, especially when the alliance is with Congress, who habitually dump their partners whenever their partners lose utility for the Congress. In the latest blow to the prospects of a united opposition, Sachin Pilot has denied any chances of an alliance with Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) for the upcoming Rajasthan Assembly Elections. Pradesh Congress Committee leader Sachin Pilot said, “No discussion has taken place on having an alliance with BSP here, we have won in the past and we are well placed to win again.” The statement from Sachin Pilot comes at a time when the political managers of Congress party are trying to reach out to BSP for the Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh assembly elections. The contradiction in Congress’ approach for an alliance in different states shows their opportunistic behavior.
The Congress party is confident of winning in Rajasthan because they won two Lok Sabha by polls in Alwar and Ajmer. On the other hand, they have been out of power in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh for the last fourteen years. The party is desperate to snatch the CM seat in these two states and therefore they want alliance with BSP in upcoming assembly elections to get the support of Dalits. The idea of a united opposition was coined by some leaders, although it is not clear whether Congress will lead this proposed coalition or not. Leaders like H D Deve Gowda are of the opinion that a united opposition is not possible without Congress, while on the other hand leaders like Mamata Banerjee and K Chandrashekhar Rao are vehemently opposed to Congress leading the opposition.
The major bone of contention between non Congress opposition leaders is whether the grand old party of India should lead them or not. Some leaders agree on the idea of Sonia Gandhi leading the opposition but very few agree on the leadership of Congress president Rahul Gandhi because they think that he will be weakest candidate to be pitted against PM Modi. From the previous elections it is evident that Rahul Gandhi has not been able take on BJP in any election, having successively lost every state since he taken over the reins of the party. The disagreement is also because Congress is the main opposition to other parties is some states like Telangana, Kerala etc, therefore it will not go well with their electorates if they enter in an alliance which is led by Congress party.
The idea of a united opposition has been tried three times in the history of India, two times against Congress and one time against the BJP. The only time the idea of a united opposition partly worked was in the post-emergency period. In 1977 after the the Emergency, the entire opposition united against the tyranny of Congress under Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, under the leadership of socialist icon Jayprakash Narayan. The Janata Party won 345 out of 542 seats while the Congress was reduced to a mere 189. Moraraji Desai became the Prime Minister but then the government could not complete even three years because of internal disputes within the party.
The united opposition has tried three times and failed to complete five years in government each and every time, the traitor being the Congress in 1989 and in 1998. Such is the political history of Congress that no party can place their trust on them as an alliance partner. The same is happening with BSP in the current scenario, wherein Congress is eager to have an alliance in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh with the BSP while dumping them in Rajasthan where it is confident of winning.
The rejection of an alliance with the BSP by Sachin Pilot shows the dwindling faith other parties have in the Congress. With this kind of blatant opportunism, it would be difficult for the Congress to win over the trust of several regional parties in a potential united alliance.