Jolted by ‘reverse polarisation’, Opposition treads cautiously

New Delhi: Rattled by the massive mandate received by the BJP in the Uttar Pradesh election due to the so-called “reverse polarisation”, Opposition parties are now trying to avoid raking up issues which will help the ruling party consolidate Hindu votes.

The parties which include the Congress, Trinamul Congress and the Left parties have deliberately decided to avoid issues which will help in the “communal” narrative of the BJP, various leaders from these parties told this newspaper.

The Trinamul Congress, for example, raised the matter of forcible closure of abbatoirs in Uttar Pradesh after Yogi Adityanath took charge but took it up as a matter of hundreds of people losing their livelihood instead of the step affecting meat supply.

“This is a deliberate decision as the moment you talk about meat ban and right to a particular diet, then it is very easy to fall into the trap of Hindu-Muslim binary which furthers their cause,” a top TMC leader said.

CPI-M sources said that party was looking to built an “alternative narrative” which can deflect the polarisation of Hindu votes “which the BJP has mastered so well”.

The sources said that instead of picking up issues politically, the CPI-M was trying to build up an alternative viewpoint through intellectual outreach as well as public discussions.

“The Uttar Pradesh verdict as well as our experience in West Bengal shows that the RSS agenda is to help consolidate Hindu votes. Thus we don’t want to fall into their trap and are spinning issues to keep the secular-communal agenda at bay,” a CPI-M politbureau member said.

The Opposition has also been unusually quiet in Parliament ever since the second half of the budget session reconvened. While the Parliament reconvened on March 9, the Assembly polls results were announced on March 12.

The TMC and the Congress were at the forefront of an aggressive demonetization campaign in the last winter session and had even led marches to the president’s house over the issue.

This session, however, the Congress has limited its onslaught to the amendments in the finance Bill and making Aadhar mandatory for all government benefits.

The BJP won over 320 seats in the recent UP polls. Many have attributed this huge victory of the BJP to consolidation of Hindu votes after both the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party actively wooed Muslims. Both the SP and the BSP had failed miserably at the hustings.