Drive for One-Party Rule Targets Opposition
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THE BJP has launched a full-fledged drive to organise defections from the Congress and some other opposition parties. After getting Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) and Jayant Chaudhary’s RLD to defect to the BJP, there has been a spate of defections of individual leaders, MLAs and former legislators of the Congress in different states.
In the past one month alone, there was the declaration by two Congress MLAs in Assam of supporting the BJP government in the state; one of them was the working president of the Assam Congress. This was followed by the defection of Ashok Chavan, former chief minister and Congress leader, to the BJP in Maharashtra. In Rajasthan, the four-time MLA and tribal leader of the Congress, Mahendrajeet Singh Malviya, suddenly found his ideological affinity to the BJP. In Gujarat, two MLAs of the Congress had crossed over, including the chief whip in the assembly. They are now being followed by the outgoing Rajya Sabha MP and five-time Lok Sabha MP of the Congress, Naran Rathwa, a tribal leader and his son. In Arunachal Pradesh, where the BJP itself consists of defectors, two Congress MLAs have joined the band along with two other MLAs of the National People’s Party (NPP). In Bihar, two Congress MLAs and an RJD MLA crossed over to the treasury benches during the assembly session. Earlier, three RJD MLAs had defected during the trust vote. In Jharkhand, the lone Congress MP, Geeta Koda, has joined the BJP.
It will be a mistake to see these defections as just another bout of self-seeking leaders crossing over to greener pastures. What is happening is part of the larger design to disable and dismantle the Congress, particularly in states where it is the main opposition to the BJP and to weaken the entire opposition.
The BJP is adopting dual tactics to make Congress and certain opposition leaders to defect and join the BJP. This involves using coercive tactics and offering incentives – both the carrot and the stick. The stick being the Enforcement Directorate, the CBI and central agencies to target vulnerable leaders, the carrot includes exoneration from all corruption charges, tickets for elections and generous amounts of money. A number of those who have discovered the virtues of joining the BJP are facing investigation or cases connected with corruption. Ashok Chavan is the prime example, who is an accused in the Adarsh housing scam. The Assam Congress legislator, Purkayastha, is being investigated by the vigilance department of the state. Earlier, most of the leaders of the NCP who split away to form a parallel party and join hands with the BJP were all facing various investigations and cases launched by the ED. For others, the incentive is purely mercenary and the lure of better prospects for themselves and their family members.
For those who do not submit to the coercive tactics of the ED/CBI, there is jail awaiting them as has happened to Hemant Soren, who was arrested while being chief minister of Jharkhand, and the threat of arrest of Arvind Kejriwal, chief minister of Delhi.
The aim of the BJP leadership is to eliminate the opposition and establish a one-party regime. Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma boasted that “there is no real opposition in Assam” and that “it will be a state where all MLAs will support the state and central governments”.
That the BJP is acting according to a master plan is evident from what has happened in the just concluded Rajya Sabha elections in Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
In Himachal Pradesh, where there is the sole Congress government in the north, out of the 68-member assembly, 40 belong to the Congress, 25 to the BJP and there were three independents, who supported the Congress government. Despite this, the BJP candidate for the Rajya Sabha was elected. Six Congress MLAs and three independents crossed over to support the BJP candidate. In the process, the Sukhu government finds itself in a precarious position on the eve of placing the state budget in the assembly.
In Uttar Pradesh, out of the ten seats up for election, the Samajwadi Party could have won three given its strength in the assembly. But seven MLAs of the SP defected and voted for the BJP, including the chief whip. Thus, the BJP was able to win two extra seats to the Rajya Sabha and also threaten the state government’s existence in Himachal Pradesh.
This development should cause great concern for the Congress party and its leadership. While one can denounce the corrupt maneuvers of the BJP, a valid question is how the Congress could be caught napping and unaware of what was happening within its ranks. It is clear that despite the victory in the assembly elections, the party continued to remain a divided house.
The present plight of the Congress party is exemplified by the likes of Kamal Nath. Here is a senior leader who, while helming the party in Madhya Pradesh, openly flaunted his Hindutva credentials. After the electoral debacle, he was willing to strike a deal with the BJP, but for whatever reason, it fell through. If this is the stuff Congress leaders are made of, it can never put up a firm and serious fight against the BJP-RSS.
Taking on the BJP requires a bold and consistent fight – ideologically and politically – against the Hindutva communal forces. The opposition parties should understand that this is an existential fight to save democracy. The forthcoming election battle must see a powerful campaign against the communal-corporate regime and the danger they pose to democracy, which alone can rouse the people and defeat the BJP.
(February 28, 2024)
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