THE Khammam rally was not the first mega Opposition showpiece of its unity. For, seen from another and practical angle, it showcased the obvious fault-lines in the Opposition camp. For, the event demonstrated not just one but three prime ministerial aspirants in Mr. Chandrasekhara Rao, Mr. Arvind Kejriwal and Mr. Akhilesh Yadav. Obviously with those many aspirants in the race, the Opposition promises to be more a divided house than a united front.

Other Opposition leaders were not present at the event -- like West Bengal Chief Minister Ms. Mamata Banerjee, like Congress leader Mr. Rahul Gandhi (both prime ministerial aspirants). This clearly meant that the Opposition unity stands bombed even before a front is formed. For Mr. Gandhi, the Khammam rally is a danger signal since it does not portray him as the sole Opposition face.

The problem with the so-called clarion call to dislodge the BJP Government in 2024 is that it is negative in nature. When the goal is steeped in negativism, then the possibility of its fulfillment is the least. For the past several years, the Opposition parties have failed to understand this reality of life. They have all along positioned themselves as a force that would never accept Mr. Narendra Modi as the national leader. To this extent, it is perfectly fine for the Opposition to plan to dislodge the party in power. But after this point, the Opposition loses its track. For, instead of offering to the people an alternative agenda, the Opposition parties harp on only one aspect -- Anybody but Mr Modi and the BJP.

This stark negativism appears starker against the ever-expanding circle of personal influence of Mr. Narendra and organisational excellence of the BJP in all aspects. Instead of forming a carefully drafted agenda as an alternative narrative to the work Mr. Modi and the BJP are doing, the Opposition keeps talking of only one point -- Remove Modi at any cost. With Mr. Modi’s popularity on all counts rising sky-high, the common people just refuse to pay much attention to the Opposition rant. Rant?! Yes, there is no better word to describe the statements of the Opposition leaders. That is senseless ranting. That is endless whining. That is sheer nonsense, to say the least.

There is enough ground to suspect that all the Opposition leaders must be getting Mr. Narendra Modi’s nightmares all the time. So obsessed they are with Mr. Narendra Modi that with each morsel of food, they chant the anti-Modi rant, habitually and compulsively. But the Khammam rally showed that the larger Opposition does not have a plan ready as yet -- with alternate narrative and a common face of a leader.

In sharp contrast, the BJP is fully ready to face every electoral challenge in the next one-and-a-half years till the summer of 2024. Its agenda is ready. Its electoral pitch is ready and practised. Its volunteer force and general cadres are geared up. Its lists of star campaigners in the legislative and parliamentary elections are ready. It has just recently given a coveted extension to its national President Mr. J.P. Nadda. Its electoral tours of major leaders are planned. And to top it all, the BJP has its Government’s great work to talk about.

Seen against this preparedness of the BJP and the Prime Minister, the Khammam rally appears to be a meek effort to push an anti-Modi agenda to fore. There is no nerve and verve and vision in the Opposition camp -- which would be clear even to a blind boy in the street.

There is something else as well to talk about. Mr. Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party has not one single MP in Lok Sabha, for example. And the total number of MPs of all the parties present at the Khammam rally may not exceed even 20. Compare this with the massive current strength of the BJP -- 303 -- in Lok Sabha, and its projection for 2024 exceeding all previous records.

Such comparisons make it clear that the Opposition is preparing for a battle already lost. The run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, thus, will be interesting to watch from sheer entertainment point of view -- of the stand up comedy of the Opposition leaders on the national stage whose rehearsals started at Khammam.