Opponents of the BJP understand that conflict inside the Election Commission and Gyanesh Kumar’s authoritarian behavior have handed them a powerful weapon. But they do not all agree on how it should be used. In this situation, everyone is looking toward a meeting of the INDIA alliance. They believe that if all sides sit together, a way to respond will emerge. The meeting is likely next week, possibly Wednesday.
Everyone is looking to the Congress leadership for the meeting. On Sept. 23, CPM all-India general secretary M.A. Baby wrote to all opposition leaders demanding that a meeting of the INDIA alliance be convened quickly. Surprisingly, Trinamool leader Mamata Banerjee not only replied immediately but also forgot the past and called the CPM leader from Kerala.
For so long, political communication with that party had been closed. Until recently, Trinamool had not felt the need for electoral understanding with it to stop the BJP, and in West Bengal it had always treated the party dismissively. Now the Trinamool leader is eager to bring that party closer. Mamata has also spoken with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, mainly to call a meeting of the INDIA alliance. She did not forget to mention that to Baby in her letter.
Trinamool Congress and the CPM-led Left alliance are both today bereft after losing West Bengal and Kerala. Coming closer to stop the all-consuming BJP is as much a demand of the time as it is a mutual compulsion. In times of crisis, survival requires holding hands.
In this situation, the Cockroach Janata Party, or CJP, has placed a new proposal before the opposition. It said that strongly opposing the Election Commission and calling it a vote thief, while also taking part in elections conducted under that same commission, can be nothing but political double standards. Through this, the opposition gives legitimacy to elections held under Election Commission supervision.
CJP leader Abhijit Dipak has therefore proposed that the opposition should boycott elections if it wants to build public opinion against SIR, vote theft, murder of democracy and the BJP-EC partnership. Dipak said the Election Commission has turned the voting process into a farce. It is cheating opposition parties and voters shamelessly, like daylight robbery, he said. Even after this, if the opposition joins the vote, the fraudulent election receives a kind of legitimacy. Using the example of match fixing in cricket, he said knowingly joining a fixed match means validating it. He said this double standard needs to end.
Although many in the opposition consider the CJP proposal logical, they cannot accept it. There are sharp differences among INDIA alliance partners on the issue. Congress, Samajwadi Party, Trinamool Congress and left parties believe that taking such a decision now could backfire. The BJP would score in an empty field and amend the constitution according to its own wishes and ideology. The opposition would also lose the right to use Parliament as a tool of struggle. It would also betray grassroots workers who are confronting the BJP on the ground and fighting at the risk of their lives.
Tamil Nadu’s DMK was also a member of the INDIA alliance until recently. After the last assembly election, Congress and the left parties left it and supported TVK to form the government, creating distance between DMK and the INDIA alliance. Still, the party has not abandoned its anti-BJP line. DMK leaders believe that if the opposition follows the CJP prescription and boycotts elections, the public may receive the message that the opposition fears the BJP and does not want to fight. That may cause more harm than benefit.
The cockroaches remain firm in demanding Gyanesh Kumar’s removal. CJP leaders have already announced their movement program. If Gyanesh does not resign, they say they will start Jantar Mantar 2.0 from Oct. 2, Gandhi Jayanti. In this situation, both the CPM and Trinamool Congress want to draw parties such as the CJP, TVK, Aam Aadmi Party and DMK closer to intensify anti-BJP politics. Mamata and M.A. Baby want everyone to unite and strengthen the anti-BJP movement on this issue. The matter will certainly be discussed at the possible INDIA alliance meeting next week.
INDIA partners, especially Congress, Trinamool Congress, RJD, Samajwadi Party and the left parties, are also trying to understand the mood of BJP allies. None of the BJP allies has yet strongly opposed Gyanesh Kumar or the Election Commission. Four allies, Bihar’s Lok Janshakti Party, Andhra Pradesh’s TDP, Uttar Pradesh’s Rashtriya Lok Manch and Maharashtra’s Republican Party of India, believe that when doubts and suspicion have arisen in people’s minds about the commission’s work and questions have been raised over the credibility of the institution, the Election Commission should come forward publicly and explain all questions. It should remove all doubts.
Comments of this kind from LJP leader and Union Minister Chirag Paswan, TDP Lok Sabha leader Srikrishna Devarayalu, Rashtriya Lok Manch’s Upendra Kushwaha and RPI’s Ramdas Athawale have left the BJP somewhat concerned. The BJP’s top leadership is now trying to understand how much the anti-commission campaign is influencing NDA allies. The BJP is also watching a different tone from YSR Congress leader Jaganmohan Reddy, who is not an ally but has helped the government in various ways. Jaganmohan wrote on social media that in a democracy, transparency must be maintained and the belief that transparency is being maintained must also be established in the public mind.
He also reminded the BJP that the 2023 law it helped pass on appointing Election Commission members needs review in the current situation. Under that law, the chief justice was removed from the body that nominates EC members and replaced by another Union minister nominated by the prime minister. The third member of the committee is the opposition leader in the Lok Sabha. As a result of the law, whoever the government side chooses will be nominated as chief election commissioner and EC member. The opposition leader can do nothing.
The BJP is now trying to understand what stance allies and like-minded parties ultimately take on Gyanesh. The government is not ready to make any immediate decision on Gyanesh Kumar. A top BJP leader said no action would be taken before seeing how far the matter goes. He noted that Narendra Modi never takes decisions in haste. The decision to remove Dharmendra Pradhan was also taken after much thought. In this case, the question concerns the head of a constitutional institution. The government will take appropriate steps after watching the intensity of the opposition movement, the Election Commission’s explanation and the public reaction, he said.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report