Sharad Pawar Sets The Terms For A Meaningful United Opposition

A veteran politician often seen as a glue for the opposition parties, NCP supremo Sharad Pawar's comments on Friday insisting that the opposition broad-base its narrative to focus on issues that matter to people and not pick on insular matters is nothing short of a prescription for the Congress to have a hard look at its political narrative before 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

This is the first time the veteran leader broke ranks with the Congress over its demand for a joint parliamentary committee on the Adani matter, and went to an extent of saying that "out-of-proportion importance was given to the issue".

"The issues that were raised, who raised them...we had never heard of these people (Hindenburg Research) who gave the statement, what is their background? When they raise issues that cause a ruckus across the country, the cost is borne by the country’s economy. We cannot disregard these things. It seems this was targeted,” Pawar said during an exclusive interview with NDTV's Sanjay Pugalia.

Pawar added that an united opposition front to challenge the BJP will only be possible if it has clarity on issues and a common programme and direction for the parties to work together. A key figure in bringing together various opposition parties against the BJP, Pawar also said that opposition parties will have to bridge their ideologies, but the thrust should be on development.

"We have other people who want opposition unity, but this Leftist thinking in their minds they do not want to move away from it. Opposition unity will only work with a specific programme and a direction, if this is not there, any opposition unity will not be beneficial for the country," he added.

Pawar however also said that though some opposition parties wanted to cut out the Congress, the party remained important.

"There are differences between the Congress of now and the Congress of the past. But you cannot ignore the Congress. The Congress is present in many states of the country. Some of our colleagues feel there is a need to get non-Congress parties together. But I feel much more important is why is opposition unity needed? What is the programme and roadmap? If there is clarity on this, that will benefit the country, but we have to accept we are not there yet," he added.

This comes even as the Congress is making yet another attempt at consolidating the divided opposition against the BJP government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while many parties -- such as Samajwadi Party and the Trinamool Congress -- have announced that they will fight 2024 Lok Sabha elections on their own.

Bihar deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav have said that the Congress should let the regional parties take the lead. And while TMC has condemned the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi as a Member of Parliament, party leaders later clarified that its support was symbolic.

Pawar's insistence on the opposition getting the strategy and narrative right before 2024 is important in the context of the runup to 2019 when the Congress had made Rafale the centre point of its campaign--something that many of its leaders had dismissed as an issue with no resonance on ground. Months later, the Supreme Court gave its clean chit to the Centre on the issue and Rahul Gandhi submitted an unconditional apology before the apex court.

Even during the Rafale controversy, the BJP-led central government had rejected demands for a JPC probe. JPCs have been formed in the past too, particularly in the scams such as those perpetrated by Harshad Mehta or Ketan Parekh, but its recommendations were neither accepted in full nor implemented, or diluted later.

Pawar in the NDTV interview also explained the futility of the demand for JPC when the Supreme Court is already looking into the matter, suggesting it would lead to a diversion from real issues.

He has been making similar interventions even in the opposition meetings that have been held recently.

In a recent meeting with the Gandhis present, he had reportedly advised Rahul Gandhi to tone down his attacks on VD Savarkar who -- though controversial -- is an iconic figure in Maharashtra, and thereby not put ally Uddhav Thackeray in a spot. Pawar was also instrumental in getting parties to come together to condemn the arrest of AAP leader Manish Sisodia, following which 14 parties approached the apex court on the alleged misuse of central agencies.

A year ago, it was Pawar who took the lead in uniting the opposition on presidential and vice presidential polls, even getting the AAP to support the opposition's candidate, although the meetings also marked some disagreements between Pawar and TMC.

It is important to remember that Pawar's advice that the opposition should raise issues that concern the common man is also being echoed by the Congress leaders in Karnataka where the party is running an aggressive campaign to oust the Basavaraj Bommai-led BJP government. The "one-on-one contest" strategy of the opposition under which the Congress or any regional party best-suited to give the BJP a fight takes the lead in each state is pertinent, but it is important to remember that in at least 190 seats -- largely in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Assam, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and Gujarat -- it will be the Congress facing the BJP, which make it important for the party to run an effective campaign on the ground that strikes a chord with the people to counter the BJP.

It's easy to say that the opposition's only task is to win over the 63% of the electorate that didn't vote for the BJP or its allies in 2019. But that's easier said than done, as many regional parties breakaway from the Congress as rivals. Many are under the scrutiny of central agencies themselves, fighting for their own survival.

This is why the words of Pawar, who is known to speak less, matter. This time too, his intervention is critical, as he is telling the Congress to handle the dynamics of opposition politics with care and caution, without which the idea of an unified, galvanised opposition will remain elusive.