The politically inept opposition

Remember, in the run-up to the 2014 general elections, Mr. Modi met a bunch of Muslim clerics. In one such meeting, a cleric tried to cap Mr. Modi with a skull cap. But Mr. Modi politely declined to wear the skull cap, and the cleric obliged accordingly. Back then, I was of the opinion that Mr. Modi should have worn the skull cap, which would have helped him win a few Muslim voters. But now, Mamata Banerjee bringing up her "Gotra" in her public rally made me realize how naïve I was back then. Mr. Modi politely declining to wear the skull cap shows how smart of a politician he is.

To make my argument clearer, assume he had agreed to wear the skull cap. This would have weakened his Hindu nationalist image, and people who voted for him because of this aspect of his politics would not have liked this stunt. Across the aisle, people who were critical or disapproved of his Hindu nationalist ideology would have criticized him, describing it as a cheap political stunt. It wouldn't have cleared the apprehensions that the minority generally has about him either. Also, no one is that naïve that Mr. Modi wearing a skull cap would make him/her vote for Mr. Modi. So, declining politely was the most brilliant way out without incurring collateral damages.

There is a length in cricket called teasing("baiting") length, and it is a length that lures batsman into playing a drive, but often, the ball ends up nicking the bat and batsman getting caught behind. This analogy is quite apt for today's political scenario, the BJP is the bowler, and the opposition is the naïve rusty batsman unable to time the ball. If you follow closely, BJP strategically lays a trap for the opposition, and the opposition walks right into the trap. For example, take the Gujarat elections, Rahul Gandhi was on a temple run, proving the BJP's allegation of the Congress being opportunistic Hindu. The election was close enough because of the alliances that Congress made and not because of the temple run. Again while scrapping of article 370, AAP, TMC either voted in favor or abstained from the voting. In a way, dancing to the tunes of the BJP. The 2019 elections saw the entry of Hanuman into the arena with Arvind Kejriwal flexing his Hindu identity. The Delhi's government recent budget marks Arvind Kejriwal's sharp right turn, once again playing into the hands of the BJP. The Rafale issue crash-landed even before it had taken off. BJP cleverly turned the question around, saying the Congress was insensitive towards India's national security. On the other hand, Congress kept insinuating foul play without backing it with proper facts and figures.

The BJP sets the stage for a campaign, and the opposition fights the election rebutting the BJP. Instead, it should have its own agenda on which it should fight every election. The opposition should attack the Achilles heel of the BJP like economy, migrant crisis, employment to name a few and not try to break past the BJP's defense. The opposition is lost in the maze of proving that they are not BJP by doing things that BJP does best.

Mamata Banerjee bringing her Gotra into the picture is yet another example of how the BJP baits the opposition. The opposition needs to first practice the drive perfectly before hitting the ball for a boundary. The sooner the opposition realizes, the better it would be for them and India's democracy. You can't beat BJP in its own game.

Image Credits; Himal South Asian