Why Opposition unity may not work as well in 2019 as it did in 1977

Back then, people weren't voting for an alliance, but against Congress and Indira Gandhi. This time, while BJP has taken a beating, its leader still stands tall, writes T N Ninan

The sundry forces seeking to oust Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have understood the importance of opposition unity. But the falling out between the BJP and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Jammu and Kashmir shows that it is often easier to form an alliance than to sustain it.

The first national coalition was in 1971, when five parties came together to fight Indira Gandhi’s faction of the divided Congress. Mrs Gandhi said this “Grand Alliance” was focused on removing her, while she was focused on removing poverty. The voters believed her. She got 44 per