Need a fighting front, not federal: NCP National General Secretary

If Modi had credibility, he wouldn't have lost nearly all the by-elections, and you'll see in 2019, or even if he advances the Lok Sabha elections, Modi is not going to be the PM, says D P Tripathi

D P Tripathi, 65, former Rajya Sabha member and political adviser to Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar, tells Archis Mohan how a united Opposition from below will ensure Narendra Modi does not return as the prime minister in 2019, and the question whether Pawar would become the next PM was irrelevant at the moment

Sharad Pawar recently said no ‘grand alliance’ of Opposition parties is possible before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Is this a sign of disunity within the Opposition camp or failure to agree upon a consensus prime ministerial candidate?

I think you are not able to understand what Sharad Pawarji means. This whole concept of mahagatbandhan, or grand alliance, from above is not the right way to fight the Narendra Modi government. If you look at the political map of India today, there is a coalition, unity, unification of anti-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) forces from below in different states.

Take Bengal for instance. Mamata Banerjee is the leader. In Odisha, it is Naveen Patnaik. Take Telangana, K Chandrashekar Rao is the leader, while N Chandrababu Naidu is the leader in Andhra Pradesh. I can count more states like this.

So, except Karnataka and Maharashtra, where proper polarisation between one coalition and BJP exists, other states are already unified between BJP and anti-BJP. It is BJP versus the Congress in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh.

This is a new dimension in Indian politics where there is unity of Opposition from below.

But wouldn’t this failure to build a common platform weaken the political narrative against the Modi government?

I don’t think it weakens the narrative. Look at the 2004 elections. All surveys, analysis and newspaper reports said Atal Bihari Vajpayee is winning. The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) lost and there was a post-poll alliance called the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), which lasted 10-years.

People forget that in India, whichever alternative has emerged has been of a different type. In 1977, there was the Janata Party, while in 1989, the V P Singh government was supported by the Left and the Right from outside. The 1996-98 United Front government, Vajpayee’s NDA-1 and then the UPA. Now you will have a new kind of political formation. 

But there is criticism that discredited leaders with no issues other than arithmetic have come together to defeat Prime Minister Modi?

If Modi had credibility, he wouldn’t have lost nearly all the by-elections, and you’ll see in 2019, or even if he advances the Lok Sabha elections, Modi is not going to be the PM. People of India have decided this. And don’t say these are disgruntled elements or disillusioned leaders. Naveen Patnaik, Mamata Banerjee, and I can name so many more, who are not disgruntled leaders. Just because they are opposed to Modi does not mean they are disgruntled or discredited.

Does the Opposition have any issue other than all its leaders being anti-Modi?

The basics issue, which was initiated by Pawar on Republic Day this year in Mumbai, where all major Opposition parties and others joined, is samvidhaan bachao, desh bachao, or ‘save the Constitution, save the country’. The Constitution is under attack from all sides. Fundamental fights are under attack. What you will eat, drink, wear, the language you will speak — all this nonsense — is an attack on our Fundamental Rights. 

The BJP has Modi, but the Opposition has no leader who measures up to him in terms of popularity.

As I pointed out earlier, in 2004, there was a colossus like Vajpayee. But they lost. This is what is going to happen in the next Lok Sabha elections.

Pawar was one of the youngest chief ministers. He has experience as a Union Minister, is a veteran Congressman and known to be able to carry everyone along. Isn’t he the natural leader of the Opposition?

I don’t think so. That question is not relevant. The question relevant today is not whether Pawar should be the leader or not. The point is how to channelise all the energies of different Opposition parties and groups in different states in India, and at the level of the Centre, to defeat Modi and BJP. That is the basic point, not whether Pawar should be the leader or not.

What would you say to those who believe Congress President Rahul Gandhi, since he leads the largest Opposition party, should be the leader?

Again I am saying, this is not the correct question whether Pawar, Rahul Gandhi, N Chandrababu Naidu, Mayawati, or someone else becomes the leader.

You were very close to Rajiv Gandhi. As an elder, what is your assessment of and advice to his son?

Well, I am saying this in an interview for the first time. We had a meeting for the first time, Rahul Gandhi and I, on March 31. My assessment is that he has matured as a national leader because the observations he made were mature; the questions he asked were relevant and correct questions about Indian politics and what I saw in that meeting, which lasted about 45 minutes, is that he is still ready to learn. A man who is ready to learn is a very mature man, according to me, and this is the first sign of becoming a good political leader.

Do you think the Congress would show a big heart in its dealings with smaller parties?

Let us not forget one fact. Whatever the situation, the Congress is the principal Opposition party. We cannot forget that. You can’t change the nature of the Indian polity and defeat Modi without the Congress. But the second fact is that the Congress alone cannot defeat Modi. Therefore, the Congress will have to be accommodative and understanding. And, there are examples of this. Akhilesh Yadav (Samajwadi Party chief) has said that even if his party needs to contest on lesser number of seats in Uttar Pradesh, he will not break the alliance (with the Bahujan Samaj Party). This is the understanding for opposition unity, which the Congress will have to adopt.

What about the idea of a federal front?

I don’t accept that argument at all. There is nothing called the federal front. Of course, parties will have their alliances and understandings, but a front to take on Modi is not possible without the Congress. The question is whether we can have a fighting front, not a federal front.

You said Modi will not return as the prime minister. Are you also suggesting a churn within the BJP?

Politics is a continuous churning process. And I say this to you in a non-partisan way that I do not expect any kind of big upheaval or split within the BJP. Only those who do not know the character of political parties would come to those conclusions. However, there could be differences within the various forces supporting the BJP, and those differences could be quite crucial also. The BJP will remain an organised party, of course, corrupted through the continuous years in the government. Even then that it is going to break, I don’t buy that argument.

The NCP couldn’t have an alliance in Gujarat, and contested several seats. Will it contest the forthcoming assembly polls in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh?

In Gujarat, we wanted alliance with the Congress. In different parts of the country, we want alliances with the Congress. But we know our limitations and we are humble. Our greatest contradiction is that we are a small party with a great leader. So we understand and are ready to ensure that the great leader of our party supports the other Opposition parties against the Modi government. That is the strategy of the NCP.

What is your view of former President Pranab Mukherjee addressing Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh cadres?

Normally one should not comment on the activities of a former president of India. But I personally believe, with all modesty, that this was really wrong on part of Pranab Mukherjee.