JOIN USOpposition plays tag, and BJP is the permanent 'it'
The game has been played forever. It is called by different names with different connotations in every culture. It is a simple game of tag; one person is named 'it' and, in some places, could be called 'police' if the rest of the group are all 'chors (thieves)' in hiding.
The political landscape is turning into a game of tag; the Opposition and there are so many parties, moving in different ways at different times, are all proverbial 'chors', although they are in plain sight, loud and aggressive. As the proverbial 'police', the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is shooting off in different directions to tag the culprit.
Like the children's game, it is an endless play. There are different ways in which the BJP plays the game. One is when the BJP tags a leader or two from one party, then shifts attention to another state and another regional party; 'it' keeps doing this because the game never seems to stop. The 'agencies' go on raids that are splendid optics. There are briefings and leaks and unearthing of "mountains" of cash, and then the noise and the scandal die down because 'it' has gone after another target.
Another game is just starting. Opposition leaders arrive for consultations and rallies in one state, and it must be noted that not every opposition leader arrives in the same place at the same time. Then the same, or some the same and some different opposition leaders go off to another state for another round of consultations and rallies. As 'it', the BJP realises it needs to keep up with this travelling company.
Also Read | Bharat Jodo Yatra: Donning the challenger's mantle
For example, Sitaram Yechury was in Bihar earlier this week to address a Bharat Bachao rally for democracy, secular values, the Constitution and the rapidly escalating economic crisis that is impacting people's lives and their futures with bleak employment prospects, rising prices and a ruling regime in New Delhi that is disinterested in fixing the "cost of living crisis". That was his official task. Also officially, but on a different mission, Yechury met Sharad Yadav, who has re-emerged and has mended relations with Nitish Kumar, and met Lalu Prasad Yadav, who is finally back home and, of course, the chief minister.
It is entirely likely that the Opposition would want to leverage the historical connection of Patna, the Gandhi Maidan and an all-out fight against an increasingly authoritarian regime to give a call for a similar struggle to oust the BJP in 2024 and defeat the Modi government. The increase in the frequency of exchanges and unity within the old Janata family and the early signs of a resurrection of the old Socialists are straws that could signal a political storm.
As soon as Yechury left, Amit Shah flew into Purnea, that is, the Seemanchal part of Bihar, to deliver his toxic tonic to a BJP rally about how the Opposition and the secular, dynastic regional parties plus the Congress had used appeasement of one community, namely the Muslims, to deny the Hindus the full benefits of citizenship and the opportunities that go with it. By choosing Purnea, Shah was reaching out to voters in an area with just over 75 per cent Hindus and just under 24 per cent Muslims. The expectation clearly is that the majority will feel sufficiently anxious after his visit to cling harder to the BJP as a defending force.
Then there is the Congress's Bharat Jodo march, led by Rahul Gandhi. The walkathon offers the party and its leaders and organisers endless opportunities to deliver the messages that unify the mosaic of parties that make up the anti-BJP Opposition and a chance to connect with state parties, some of whom could be election-time allies. Various parties have extended their support to the Bharat Jodo yatra, and it makes its way across 12 states and covers 3,750 kilometres.
Unlike the Opposition that has so many brand ambassadors, because each regional or small party plus the Congress has central and state and district leaders, the BJP's strategy of concentrating on one superhero leader and one formidable organiser has its advantages and its drawbacks. Both Narendra Modi and Amit Shah are permanently at risk of overexposure. It is entirely fortunate that India's voters can never seem to get enough of the duo, and Modi's popularity has remained steady
and on the high side, hovering around 67 per cent.
But, there is that one unpredictable challenge and the meticulous BJP must be fully aware of it; message fatigue and a peculiarly numbing routine of hearing the leaders narrating the same things about the majority menaced by the minority, India shining under Modi's leadership juxtaposed against the failure of the Congress, the regional ruling parties, corruption and dynastic politics followed by an upsurge of hyper-nationalism wrapped in divisive Hindutva terminology. The younger
and very blunt Tejashwi Yadav of the Rashtriya Janata Dal summed up the contents of Shah's speech - "Jungle Raj" - even before he delivered it.
As 'it', the BJP has painstakingly developed, and Modi has lived up to its expectations of establishing a cult of the person. In contrast, the Opposition has multiple persons, each with its own cult status in different states across the country. The game of tag is, therefore, on, or as Trinamool Congress supremo and another cult figure Mamata Banerjee puts it – Khela Hobe (Game is on). The Yechury visit to Bihar is followed up by Shah's visit. Telangana Rashtra Samithi leader K Chandrashekar Rao's hopping tour across India was followed up by Modi's hopping tour across Kerala and Karnataka. The prime minister will be flitting in and out of Gujarat as the state prepares to go to the polls at the end of the year, but so will Arvind Kejriwal of the Aam Aadmi Party and leaders from the Congress and other parties.
But as 'it', the BJP will face the problem of limited choices. As 'it', the BJP's problem of limited choices meant that Shah had already been to Haryana earlier in the week to rally support for his brand of politics. That his visit preceded the visit by the gang, a bevvy of opposition veterans, especially from the original Janata Party movement on September 25, at Fatehabad in Haryana, has certain disadvantages. In this instance, Shah has had to operate like a warm-up for the actual event when opposition leaders arrive to join the Indian National Lok Dal in celebrating Samman Divas in honour of Chaudhary Devi Lal. The final list of attendees will be out when they all arrive at the venue, but the Janata Dal parties will be there in large numbers.
In tag, the 'it' has to chase the gang. The larger the gang, the harder the task. The anti-BJP Opposition is unanimous, though each party has different inflexion points on what is wrong with the BJP, its ideology, its agenda and its governance. The different inflexion points are obviously calibrated to reflect the priorities of the specific circumstances in different states. In contrast, the BJP has a centralised strategy, narrative and method of governance.
The shift from an earlier time when the BJP dominated the political discourse to now when the BJP at times seems to be playing follow-up to the Opposition's discourse and the challenge is beginning to shape itself as the new landscape where the mega contest in 2024 will play out. Giving the BJP a run for its money is a challenge, but an exciting one, for the Opposition. The more nimble it is, coupled with the dispersed nature of its bases, could tax the BJP's resources. Its maximum strategy of the prime minister and home minister visiting and revisiting a place, pushing in the party's managers where a contest intensifies works in fits and starts. Throwing everything at the target can be, nevertheless, exhausting, if the other side is a complex gang with unpredictable members.
(Shikha Mukerjee is a senior journalist based in Kolkata)
Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.