Confident of victory in 2019 elections, senior BJP leader and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley sees no future for the grand alliance of the Opposition. Commenting on the rally of Opposition parties held in Kolkata, Jaitley wrote in his blog that there was not a single speech in the really that reflected “the positive idea” for the future. “Negativism was writ large in their approach. The strategy of each of the four contenders is clear,” Jaitley said.
Terming the rally organised by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as significant, he said it was both an anti-Modi and a “non-Rahul Gandhi” rally. “The Opposition politics has thrown up four desirous Prime Ministers, wishing to challenge Prime Minister Modi. Besides Mamata Banerjee, the other three — Rahul Gandhi, Mayawati and KCR (K Chandrasekhara Rao) — were significantly absent in Kolkata. Two-third of those on stage were those who in the past have worked with the BJP. Some octogenarians reached Kolkata to satisfy their late-life ambitions,” Jaitley wrote.
He said Banerjee wants a combination of the political adventurists to back her. “From the ultra-adventurist Chief Minister of Delhi to the discards of the BJP, there are not too many takers for her. The presence of the National Conference, the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the DMK leaders was a ritual. Their State alliance interests necessitate them to be more with the Congress. The Behan ji of Uttar Pradesh has a clear strategy — play it hard to get. She believes that in India, only caste matters,” Jaitley said and added that Chandrasekhar Rao is the exponent of a non-Congress, non-BJP front.
‘Doubtful proposition’
Jaitley said the scope for a non-BJP, non-Congress government space remains a doubtful proposition. “The individual strategy of each of the above appears to be the same, replace Modi and get on to the driver’s seat. The Congress, if it chooses, can at best be the pillion rider,” he claimed.
“It is obvious that the level of satisfaction with Pradhan Mantri Narendra Modi is high. If that weren’t so, where was the need for multiple disparate forces to come together against him? It is only the fear of his popularity and comeback that is bringing them together,” he added.