NDA vs INDIA

THE results of the byelections held for seven Assembly seats in six states are significant because they offer a sneak peek into what might ensue in the five Assembly elections later this year and the 2024 General Election. Coming soon after 26 Opposition parties forged a platform christened INDIA with the aim of jointly nudging out the BJP-led NDA, the mixed bag of results — with huge victory margins — indicates that all is not lost for the Opposition, and it can give the BJP a run for its money if it is united.

The victory of this bloc in four of the seven constituencies marks a good beginning. While Samajwadi Party nominee and INDIA’s candidate Sudhakar Singh bagged the Ghosi seat in Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand’s Dumri seat went to JMM’s Bebi Devi and the TMC’s Nirmal Chandra Roy wrested Dhupguri (West Bengal) from the BJP. In Kerala, the UDF-Congress retained the Puthuppally seat as Chandy Oommen defeated the ruling CPI(M)-led LDF’s candidate. The reversals in Kerala and UP should be a wake-up call for the ruling dispensations there. Meanwhile, the BJP continues to make rapid strides in the North-East. Its candidates Bindu Debnath and Tafajjal Hossain won Dhanpur and Boxanagar seats, respectively, in Tripura. In Uttarakhand, BJP’s Parwati Dass clinched the Bageshwar seat.

A strong Opposition is necessary in a democracy to maintain checks and balances. Though the dynamics of national elections are different from those of Assembly polls, which tend to be region-centric, it is apparent that INDIA has the potential to swing the pendulum, at least partially. To succeed, it must amicably work out the seat-sharing formula, given that the BJP remains a potent force.