Will the Opposition's unity work against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections? What is the key factor the Opposition needs to counter the BJP? Here's Prashant Kishor's take on it. In an exclusive interview with News 18, the political strategist-cum-politician said the Opposition is not weak in India but opposition parties are. He even believes that the Opposition won't succeed unless they have an "alternative like Gandhi, Ambedkar, or Communists".
Analysing the BJP's and Opposition's vote share in the last general elections, Kishor said, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP and the NDA as a whole bagged around 38 percent votes in the last election". This means, 62 percent voted against the BJP, and that the majority "does not align with the ideology and policies" of Narendra Modi's BJP. "They (BJP) won four of 10 people," he said.
"Now, the role of the Opposition and parties is to bring the other six together to pose a challenge (to the BJP). However, the Opposition has not been successful in doing so," Kishor said.
Kishor, who has embarked on a nationwide 'padayatra' to gauge the mood of the nation ahead of the Lok Sabha polls next year, believes that the coming together of all the Opposition leaders won't mean that the entire 60 percent of votes would be galvanised.
'Coming together of ideas' — The need of the hour
Citing the reason why the 62 percent bank is fragmented, Kishore said this is because it is not divided on the basis of parties or leaders, but on the basis of ideology. He emphasised the importance of the "coming together of ideologies and ideas" to built a "counter-narrative".
"There are Gandhiwadis, Ambedkarites, and Communists among others. If they are brought together by someone, only then a coalition is possible. It’s not the coming together of parties and leaders, but the coming together of ideologies and ideas that can give birth to a counter-narrative. However, that’s not happening," Kishore told News 18.
Criticising Opposition meetings, Kishor said, "Only coming together of leaders means nothing. It has to be coming together of ideas."
As part of the solution, Kishor advised the Opposition "to come up with an alternative like Gandhi, Ambedkar, or Communists". He said, "Bring a different ideology and counter the BJP. Give a better welfare model. You will not get success if you don’t do this," he added.
On Congress's rival and PM Modi
As the Congress struggles to make a strong comeback in the 2024 poll, Kishor said the grand old party "is the main opposition". "They (Congress) won 11 crore votes and are the biggest party after BJP. They have governments in some states and are the oldest party," Kishor said.
He positioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of others in the race to 2024.
First Published: Apr 2, 2023 1:40 PM IST
