Mega Opposition show of strength as HDK takes oath as CM

Bengaluru/New Delhi: The sky over Bengaluru’s Vidhana Soudha  may have been overcast Wednesday afternoon, but on the ground there was much bonhomie and camaraderie as the swearing in of the JD(S)-Congress coalition government in Karnataka virtually turned into a show of strength by the leaders of national and regional parties out to counter the Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance at the Centre in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Besides the Congress top brass like Sonia and Rahul Gandhi as well as Karnataka in-charge K.C. Venugopal, the who’s who of the anti-BJP brigade from various states were present at the swearing-in ceremony of state JD(S) chief H.D. Kumaraswamy as Karnataka’s chief minister and KPCC chief G. Parameshwar as deputy chief minister. The state BJP leaders, however, stayed away from the ceremony, calling it the cementing of an “unholy alliance”.

With the cloudy skies threatening the outdoor function, there was talk of the venue being shifted  indoors, but finally three canopies were erected to protect the VVIPs from the rain, which started at 2.30 pm and stopped by 3.15 pm, well before the event began. The wet weather, however, kept many onlookers away and the crowd was much thinner than expected.

But the cloudy weather in no way dampened the mood of the leaders of various parties who were seen talking to each other, exchanging pleasantries and holding hands.

The swearing-in ceremony offered the first glimpse of a possible anti-BJP front taking shape. Arch political rivals and old adversaries created history of sorts, with Akhilesh Yadav, Mayawati, Mamata Banerjee, Sitaram Yechury, N. Chandrababu Naidu, Sonia Gandhi and Arvind Kejriwal coming together and sharing the dais. “Jo hamse takrayega, chur chur ho jayega (Whoever dares to fight with us will be decimated),” said the tough-talking Mamata Banerjee with TDP chief N. Chandrababu Naidu by her side.

Among other prominent Opposition leaders joining the show of unity were the RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav, the NCP’s Sharad Pawar, Loktantrik Janata Dal’s Sharad Yadav and the CPI’s D. Raja.

The formation of the JD(S)-Congress government in Karnataka seemed to have paved the way for the Opposition parties coming together to try and halt the Narendra Modi-Amit Shah juggernaut ahead of the 2019 elections.

There were concerns in the saffron camp as the development could possibly be the beginning of a broad-based anti-BJP platform, which they felt “does not augur well for the party”. It was pointed out that despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi being the prime vote-catcher for the party, the

Gujarat election results had indicated that his “charisma was not enough to take on an united Opposition”.

While the BJP managed to cross the 100 mark in Karnataka, piggybacking on Mr Modi, the numbers were “not enough” to form government on its own. It was further pointed out that coming together of the SP-BSP during the Gorakhpur Lok Sabha bypoll had disloged the BJP from UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s bastion after nearly two decades. “The BJP does well in a multi-cornered fight. But Opposition unity could be a tricky situation,” a senior saffron leader observed.

While Union home minister Rajnath Singh congratulated Mr Kumaraswamy, the BJP said the coming together of the Opposition parties was a “celebration of corruption”. The BJP boycotted the ceremony and observed a “black day”. The party held statewide protests against the new coalition government.

As the BJP huffed and puffed, the Opposition chemistry was on full display, with Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and BSP supremo Mayawati greeting each other warmly while the so-called “sworn enemies”, Trinamul Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee and CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury shook hands.

And that was not all. Contrary to the talk that Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati was avoiding Mrs Sonia Gandhi , the latter was seen holding her. They even nuzzled their heads together in a touching show of affection.

During the group photograph, the two women continued to hold hands and punched the air with their fists. Congress president Rahul Gandhi standing with his mother joined in the conversation.

Despite the apaprent bonhomie and show of strength, however, there were some cracks in the united colours of the Opposition. Two Opposition chief ministers, K. Chandrasekhar Rao (Telengana) and Naveen Patnaik (Odisha), decided to remain absent from the power play. These chief ministers apaprenty stuck to their stand of maintaining an equidistance from both the Congress and the BJP.

However, the Congress’ tactical move to join hands with the JD(S) not only augurs well for Opposition unity, it also gives a clear signal that Rahul Gandhi, in his bid to keep the BJP from returning to power, was willing to let his outfit play a supportive role. Besides, the formation of an anti-BJP front following the Karnataka Assembly results indicated the rise of the regional parties and that these could play a crucial role during the 2019 general election.

With regard to the Telengana and Odisha chief ministers, who had so far refused to join the Opposition bandwagon, sources revealed their stances could change in the 2019 elections. For Naveen Patnaik, his opposition to the Congress at this juncture “is state-specific”. These two parties could possibly be seen throwing their weight behind a “secular formation”  in a post-poll scenario,” sources said.