New Delhi: Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor welcomed the recent "wave of Opposition unity" and expressed hope to challenge BJP in the upcoming general elections.
“Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from Lok Sabha following his conviction in a 2019 defamation case has generated a "surprising wave of Opposition unity" with many parties having begun to feel the truth of the adage -- united we stand, divided we fall,” he pointed out.
The former Union minister also said if most of the Opposition parties have now found a new reason to come together and stop dividing each other's vote, the BJP might find it much harder to win a majority in the 2024 elections.
He noted that regional parties traditionally opposed to the Congress in their states - AAP in Delhi, TMC in West Bengal, Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh, Bharat Rashtra Samithi in Telangana, CPIM in Kerala - have come out in Rahul Gandhi's support.
"Many have begun to feel the truth of the adage 'united we stand, divided we fall'; if they don't back Rahul now, they could be picked off one by one themselves, by a 'vengeful' government," he said.
If the Surat court verdict gives India a more united Opposition, it could be bad news for a ruling party that won the 2019 elections with just 37 per cent of the vote but more than 60 per cent of the Lok Sabha seats, he contended.
"The rest of the votes went to 35 victorious parties, all represented in the current Parliament; if most of them have now found a new reason to come together and stop dividing each other's vote, the BJP might find it much harder to win a majority in 2024," Tharoor asserted.
Asked if the Congress would be the fulcrum around which an Opposition alliance can be built to take on the BJP in 2024, he said, "Objectively we are the only Opposition party with a national footprint. There are about 200 seats where the elections will witness a straight fight between the Congress and the BJP."
All other Opposition parties are essentially strong in one state and have a presence in just one or two more, he said, adding that in the circumstances "we will de facto be the fulcrum around which the Opposition converges to offer a credible alternative."
"But if I were in the party leadership, I would not crow about it; in fact I would actually encourage one of the smaller parties to play the role of convenor of an Opposition alliance. Unity is far more important than pride of place, in my view," Tharoor asserted.
Everyone knows what the Congress represents and it doesn't need to insist on that being recognised, he said.
