THE I.N.D.I Alliance has yet again found its voice against the Central Government after the Indian Express report detailing objections by two Election Commissioners to a number of decisions overseen by Chief Election Commissioner Mr. Gyanesh Kumar relating to the deployment of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The bloc huddled together to plan a joint strategy to ‘save democracy’ in New Delhi and spelled out its course for the future which includes rallies and marches across the country.

 

The action plan has come on expected lines but it has also laid bare the dissonance within the grouping of various political parties over some unprecedented step. It would be interesting to see whether the protest tool finds resonance in the country as the electorate has repeatedly rejected the joint front for its deeply fractured structure. Congress President Mr. Mallikarjun Kharge has asserted that all parties have agreed to the action plan and would demand elections through ballot papers instead of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). The Opposition grouping has also decided to involve young people and NGOs in marches and demonstrations to be held from October 2 to 8. All these steps carry a good optic value but then the I.N.D.I Alliance partners have already used these ploys in the past with negligible benefits.

 

How much steam the old plan in a new format holds after the explanation and joint clarification from the Election Commission will decide the future of the grouping’s latest attempt at unseating the NDA Government. That the bloc is facing internal pressures can be seen from the absence of two major parties -- DMK and AAP -- in the September 30 meeting. The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam skipped the meeting due to a continuing rift with the Congress after it broke ties and supported actor Vijay’s TVK in Tamil Nadu. The Aam Aadmi Party has also stated that it was no longer part of the I.N.D.I.A bloc. Mr. Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT) and Mr. Hemant Soren’s Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), too, decided to join the meeting virtually. Analysts attributed their disinterest in their unwillingness to accept Congress leader Mr. Rahul Gandhi’s leadership.

 

Other leaders including Ms. Mamata Banerjee and Mr. Omar Abdullah, too, have shown tentativeness in the functioning of the Opposition alliance. Mr. Abdullah has time and again criticised the bloc’s internal handling, especially in the wake of Bihar Assembly elections and Mr. Nitish Kumar’s return to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Though they attended the meeting to show a united face against Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi, the fact remains that both leaders are totally focused on guarding their own turf rather than jump into national issues. In fact, the I.N.D.I Alliance has always been marred by the regional battles between the partners which has mostly rendered their national front weak and ineffective. Though they have found a common ground of SIR to target CEC Mr. Gyanesh Kumar, without a bold and coherent strategy the campaign stands to peter into just another protest march of Opposition parties. One significant thing coming out from the meeting is the decision to involve youth into the protest marches and demonstrations. The Opposition has taken cue from the protest of youngsters at Jantar Mantar over NEET paper leak and is trying to merge youth power into their own campaign. However, with a political agenda driving the campaign the youngsters might choose their own path instead of owing allegiance to any particular party or issue. Signs from ground zero are also not very encouraging for the Congress and other Opposition parties whose meetings with students are getting good response but in student body elections, the youth is increasingly preferring BJP-backed outfits. The ABVP panel victory in the Delhi University Students Union elections is a case in point. The joint action looks good on paper but it will have to pass the test of trust of the electorate.