As Tide Turns Against Modi, More Parties Back INDIA Bloc Protests
Police detained scores of opposition lawmakers, including Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, his sister and Congress parliamentarian Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, on the evening of October 6, in a bid to clear the INDIA bloc of opposition parties’ sit-in protest at Akashvani Bhavan in New Delhi.
Delhi Police subsequently registered complaints against the detained opposition parliamentarians for entering a government building without permission.
The detention of the leaders came at the end of a day of protests called by the INDIA bloc, which is demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. They accuse Kumar of vote chori (stealing votes) by overseeing an electoral process that has benefited Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The call for Kumar’s resignation gathered momentum after an investigative report in The Indian Express revealed that Kumar made unilateral decisions and issued orders despite two other election commissioners raising objections “at least 14 times over the last 10 months” to issues relating to the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls.
At a meeting on September 30, leaders of the INDIA bloc decided on a schedule of protests to press their demand for Kumar’s resignation. The October 6 march was the first of several planned demonstrations in the coming weeks.
The plan was to march from parliament to the Election Commission building. However, legislators were blocked by police and barricades from reaching the planned destination. It did seem initially that the Modi government had scored an early victory against the opposition.
However, the Gandhi siblings quickly changed the plan and headed to Akashvani Bhavan, located adjacent to the Election Commission building, and continued their sit-in protest there.
The march saw the participation of most of the INDIA bloc’s constituents. However, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) stayed away. While the DMK is miffed with Gandhi for aligning with its rival, the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, to form the government in Tamil Nadu, the AAP’s decision seems motivated by factors that are more complex and controversial.
The Congress party has long suspected the AAP of being the “BJP’s B-team” – that is, it believes the AAP’s electoral strategy of opposing the Congress strengthens the BJP.
Interestingly, the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which led the Jantar Mantar protests in July, did not participate in the INDIA-led march on October 6, although it too has called for Kumar’s resignation. Indeed, its leaders were quiet on social media through much of the day’s dramatic events, posting mild support only later, as criticism of their silence mounted on social media.
The CJP is widely believed to be close to the AAP. Of the 12 members of its core team, six – including its leaders Abhijeet Dipke, Saurav Das, and Ashutosh Ranka – “were either directly associated with the AAP or supported it publicly,” The Print reported.
Indeed, apprehension over the CJP’s likely links with the AAP kept the Congress away from the July protests at Jantar Mantar. Although Gandhi did subsequently meet activists of the leftist organizations, he has maintained distance from the CJP.
The rift between the Congress and the AAP is over 15 years old. In 2011, India Against Corruption, a grouping of NGOs, civil society organizations, and right-wing activists, held massive protests against corruption in the then Congress-led coalition government. The IAC movement not only birthed the AAP but also severely weakened the Congress, paving the way for the BJP’s victory in the 2014 general elections.
For many Congress leaders and their supporters, the Jantar Mantar protests evoked memories of the 2011 IAC protests. They believe that the Jantar Mantar protests, although directed against the BJP government, would end up benefiting the AAP and the BJP rather than the opposition.
There are other important differences between the INDIA bloc and the CJP.
On October 5, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said the Congress and its INDIA bloc partners have three “non-negotiable demands” – the resignation of CEC Kumar, annulment of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, and restoration of voting via ballot paper instead of electronic voting machines. It wants a level playing field in elections.
The CJP, meanwhile, is calling on opposition parties to boycott elections.
An opposition boycott of elections could deprive the election of legitimacy. However, a boycott could benefit the BJP. The BJP would get a few friendly parties to contest the election to lend the process legitimacy. At a time when mass support for the BJP is declining and support for the opposition parties is growing, staying away from elections would hurt the latter’s interests.
Such sharp differences among opposition forces can only weaken their efforts to defeat the BJP. The BJP can be expected to step up efforts to deepen these divisions in the coming months.
While last week, the INDIA bloc showed some signs of unity at its meeting, the October 6 demonstrations have upset some partners. What was supposed to be a joint INDIA event turned into a “Rahul Gandhi show” that showcased only the Gandhi siblings and the Congress party, they are complaining.
Meanwhile, the AAP, the DMK and the CJP appear to be rethinking their strategy of staying away from INDIA-led protests. In a sharp about-turn, the DMK today expressed solidarity with INDIA’s protests. “This government doesn’t want Rahul Gandhi to protest against Gyanesh Kumar,” it said today, after deriding him on October 6. And AAP participated in today’s protests.
The CJP and leftist organizations have called for protests in Delhi on October 10. Will the INDIA bloc back their effort? Importantly, can the Congress overcome its misgivings to extend them support? It seems unlikely at this point.
Building a mass movement is always challenging. Given its stellar role in leading India’s independence struggle, the Congress has immense experience in this regard and needs to draw on that experience. It will need to consult partners and pull together with them if it is serious about taking on the Modi government successfully.
