Opposition split, Common strategy missing

At least 5 opposition parties stayed away from a meeting  called by Congress for coordination during the session

By Venkatesh Kesari | NT

New Delhi: The first day of winter session of parliament saw division in the anti BJP parties and uncertainty of the duration of the session due to threat of new Covid-19 variant Omicron .

The opposition parties wanting to utilise the parliament floor against the BJP ahead of the assembly elections in five states but have yet to work on a common strategy.

At least five political parties which are neither backing the ruling BJP nor are the fence sitters, stayed away from a meeting called by the Congress party for a floor coordination during the winter session of parliament began on Monday.

They are : Shiv Sena, Samajwadi Party, AAP, Janata Dal (S) and the JMM besides the Mamata Banerjee led All India Trinamool Congress which had already said that it would not attend the meeting.

While the Shiv Sena leader and its sitting Lok Sabha member Vinayak Raut told NT, when contacted that his party was not invited for Monday’s meeting, that was called at the initiative of senior Congress leader and the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge. The Congress party has been sharing power with the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra. Surprisingly, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, another ally of the Congress and its ruling partner in Jharkhand, too was not seen in the meeting.

The Congress said as many as 11 parties attended the meeting. They are : DMK, NCP, CPM , CPI, RJD, IUML, MDMK, Lok Janata Dal, NC, RSP besides the Congress.

If the YSR Congres Party, the Biju Janata Dal, the Telangana Rashtra Simithi ruling Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Telangana respectively are seen as the `friendly parties ‘ of the BJP and the government, the Mayawati led BSP and the Telugu Desam Party have yet to take a position while the Shiromani Akali Dal ,which quit the NDA and the union cabinet on the farmers issues especially on the three farm laws, has been maintaining an equidistance from the BJP led NDA and the Congress led UPA.

Though impending assembly polls in five states could be one of the factors behind the division in the opposition, the YSR Congress Party, the TRS and the TDP cannot afford to ally with the Congress as the latter’s revival could weaken them in Andhra Pradesh.

On the other hand the Biju Janata Dal has been consistent in opposing the Congress although the BJP has emerged as number two in Odisha and thus is the main opponent to it in the state.

The main opposition Congress party is trying to establish its supremacy behind ensuring opposition unity which could send out a wrong message to the political constituency of the Samajwadi Party, the AAP and Trinamool Congress in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Goa.

And in Maharashtra, the Congress is cautious with the Shiv Sena despite sharing power with it since last two years. The Maha Vikas Agadhi comprising the Shiv Sena, the NCP and the Congress emerged as an alternate to the BJP in the state.