The opposition has been trying to claim a moral high ground over the BJP in order to justify the formation of a grand coalition against the BJP. However, Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu might have spilled the beans with less than two weeks to go for the Lok Sabha polls. As per a Republic World report, Naidu said, “They may have some political compulsions. Ultimately people are very clear, they’re anti-Narendra Modi, anti-BJP.” It is, therefore clear that the mahagathbandhan proposed by some opposition leaders had no common ideological basis. It was not based on principles but solely fuelled by political expediency.
Naidu’s comments come merely a day after the Left accused the Rahul Gandhi led Congress of going back on its word to fight the BJP. The Left made this remark after the grand old party decided to field Rahul Gandhi from the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency in Kerala apart from the Amethi Lok Sabha seat. The two main opposition players, the Left and the Congress, have failed to forge an alliance in the state of Kerala. However, Kerala is not the only state where the grand coalition has not materialised or fallen apart abruptly. The alliance has failed to take off for the reasons mentioned by Naidu at an all-India level with the opposition leaders hardly being able to stand united in order to ensure smooth formation of a grand coalition.
A grand coalition failed to materialise in the state of Uttar Pradesh. The BSP and the SP snubbed the Congress in a ruthless fashion. Therefore, the opposition hopes of an “All versus Modi” contest were dashed in an abrupt manner. The state will now witness a three cornered contest between the BJP, the Congress and the SP-BSP coalition. This will obviously benefit the BJP as there will be division of anti-BJP votes in two factions. Coming to the state of West Bengal, an alliance had been formed between the Congress and the Left. However, the Congress called off its alliance with the Left. This massive decision came after the Left Front included Congress leader, Dr. Rezaul Karim, in its first list of candidates. While the list mentioned his name, it didn’t reveal the party from which the candidate is going to contest. The Congress seemed miffed after the Left Front made the above-stated announcement. West Bengal Congress chief Mitra asked, “How can they decide who will be our candidate? Our Medical Cell chairman’s name (Dr. Rezaul Karim) was declared as their Birbhum candidate without taking due permission from our side! This is bizarre. So what’s the use of negotiations if the Left front declares candidates on our behalf?”
It is clear that the grand coalition has no ideological basis or common political principles. The coalition was proposed solely in order to defeat the most popular leader in the country. However, the mahagathbandhan failed to take off even though the opposition parties were desperate in order to somehow come together on an all India basis and avoid another BJP victory in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.