The "Modi Vs Who" Conundrum

The Prime Ministerial candidate of a party is like a torch bearer who embodies or captures the vision of the particular party or alliance. It helps in creating a clear image in people's minds and people know exactly what to expect. In case, there is no PM face, there is a bit of uncertainty that the opposite side can take advantage of using "the fear of the unknown". This is what the BJP has been doing when the Mahagthbandhan was forged and now with the I.N.D.I.A alliance, trying to take the steam off the opposition campaign by asking the question of "Modi Vs Who".

Not declaring a PM face or not deliberating over it now will help I.N.D.I.A keep its flock together. I.N.D.I.A has many alliance partners who have the ambition of occupying the top post. So figuring out a PM face for the alliance at the moment won't just be jumping the gun, but might also result in people sulking and getting disillusioned with the alliance even before the elections. Mallikarjun Kharge steered clear of this during the last I.N.D.I.A alliance meeting, with him suggesting, let us delve into this issue once elections are over and results are out. I.N.D.I.A alliance should instead focus on ensuring their vote transferability to each other and figuring out the optimum seat-sharing formula to stand a chance in the next general elections.

Projecting a PM face would also set up a direct contest between Narendra Modi and Mr Who. This would be disastrous for the opposition, as Mr. Modi is one of the most popular leaders India has ever had, and there is not even a distant second to him, and the BJP very well knows this. And it always tries to somehow make everything about Modi Vs the other side. This is where the opposition gets it wrong as well, their entire opposition seems to rest on the edifice of opposing an individual and not the policies. If the I.N.D.I.A alliance is able to make an election as local as possible, fighting the BJP from region to region, and not directly bringing the PM into the conversation, the opposition might stand a chance to at least make it a bit difficult for the BJP to sail through. But this will involve Congress taking a back seat and being the elder brother and giving space to the regional partners eventually risking its own existence as a political force. This is where it might all break down for the I.N.D.I.A alliance.

For the I.N.D.I.A. alliance to discuss the PM face is like "putting the cart before the horse' kinda situation, as no consensus has been reached on the seat sharing and electoral strategy for the 2024 general elections, but a PM face was being deliberated upon. Not declaring a PM face might be bad optics to some extent, but it might help I.N.D.I.A alliance to put up a better fight electorally in 2024, terms and conditions applied.

Image Credits: PTI