At a time, when many political parties in Opposition are trying tacitly to create a new ‘Third Front’ against the BJP for the upcoming 2024 Parliamentary election, Lalu Prasad Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) feels a need to create a ‘pragmatic content based agenda’ for the unity among the non-BJP parties instead of creating any front.
“The biggest issue for opposition unity is to develop a program. On the basis which, all opposite parties should come together s to tow down the BJP’s divisive political tempo from the country’s political premises”, opined Manoj Kumar Jha, Rajya Sabha MP and one the prominent heads of RJD’s decision-making body in an interview with Rajesh Kumar Thakur. Excerpts:
How RJD is working to keep the unity maintained in opposition at a time when some of the opposition parties are trying to build a ‘Third-Front’ under a purportedly well thought-out national political plan?
Look, the biggest issue for opposition unity now is to develop a program. A very much ‘pragmatic content-based program should be developed by the opposition and all parties should come together for this to two down the BJP’s divisive political tempo from the country’s political premises in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The unity in opposition should be maintained from regional to national levels against the political tyranny of ruling BJP.
The RJD has been working tirelessly to strengthen the unity in Opposition right from state to national levels on a formula that a party which is stronger in the region should occupy the driving seat in regional and others should be co-travellers.
On a national level of Opposition unity, the party with a stronger national position should occupy the driving seat.
But as a prominent regional Opposition party, the Trinamool, with which the RJD has also a good political rapport, is learnt to be working for developing a non-Congress-led ‘Third-Front’, ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections against the BJP. How is it taken by your party?
Frankly speaking, my leaders like Lalu Prasad Yadav and Tejashwi Yadav have repeatedly said that you cannot draw of larger canvas of Opposition unity setting aside the national party like the Indian National Congress (INC).
I think, it seems just an impossible. All political parties in Opposition will have to understand the need of hour to take on the BJP collectively in the next Lok Sabha elections, which around a couple of years away from now.
As I told you earlier that my leaders think that the party which is stronger in the state, should be in the driving seat of the Opposition there and the party which is stronger at the national level, that party should occupy the driving seat on the national level.
Such formula, individually I aloes think, would not only be effective for unity in Opposition but for challenging the BJP in the coming 2024 Lok Sabha elections also.
Will the results of assembly elections of five states, including UP, have an impact on national politics, especially in opposition groping in the dark to figure out a face against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for 2024 Lok Sabha elections?
It is almost true that the results of assembly elections of five state, namely Goa, Punjab, UP, Uttarakhand and Manipur, will give a new direction to the leaders in opposition that what they precisely need is not to allow the elections in 2024 to be the ‘person-centered’.
That should be fought collectively, convincingly and communicatively on the issues like unemployment, poverty, inflation, against the BJP.
When you have a person-centric politics, it results in narcissism and narcissism is against the democratic ethos and democratic political discourse.
This is what our leader Tejashwi Yadav has been saying that we should develop a program based agenda against the BJP’s regressive political agenda being attempted to be spread over the country now. To defeat the BJP’s agenda, avoid the temptation of rallying around the face or set of faces.
In Opposition, as it is being said, the individual ambition has started taking toll on its unity ahead of the next Lok Sabha elections. What you have to say on it?
Look, when one faces a grave challenge as our country is facing now with its democratic values and secular fabrics with the emergence of BJP a threat to the edifice of idea of India, individual ambition or preferences shall have to go and I think it will go out from any opposition.
I trust in individual as well as collective wisdom of leaders and parties in opposition but we shall have to think of taking an effective pragmatic agenda to defeat the BJP.
So, what should now prevail in Opposition? The individual wisdom or collective wisdoms?
Prudently putting, only collective wisdom should prevail in Opposition because nation wants it. We should sit together and devise a pragmatic program to down the BJP in the larger interest of country’s diverse and plural cultures, political diversity, secular fabric, social justice, equality, the Constitutional grandeurs and all entities.
Tejashwi Yadav recently had a meeting with DMK leader and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin at a program, which was also attended by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and others from opposition side, except Trinamool. Was that meeting on the sideline of a programme aimed at making out a way for another Opposition front excluding the TMC and others of its political coteries?
This is absolutely a wrong assumption. Tejashwi Yadav had a meeting with MK Stalin on the occasion of release of the latters’s autobiography in Chennai. But, no doubt, Tejashwi Yadav listed the challenges posed on the Constitution and as how the BJI has been vitiating political ambience of nation. His last line on which he ended speaks a lot.
It was : “Let’s go back from here with a pledge that we shall struggle together, fight together and work together in Opposition for ousting the BJP from power”.