BJP’s landslide win hits opposition spirit in Parliament
NEW DELHI: BJP’s landslide victory in UP and Uttarakhand and its ability to cobble together governments in Goa and Manipur has hit the morale of Opposition parties in the budget session of Parliament.
While there have been several calls for ‘larger anti-BJP alliance’, the saffron electoral wave has swept away the Opposition’s unity and aggression in both Houses of Parliament, which had seen the washout of the first phase of the budget session over demonetisation.
Post-results, both Houses have been functioning smoothly, with the government easily getting bills passed and the chair completing listed businesses each day. The contentious Enemy Property Act has already been passed and the bills related to enabling GST too are expected to sail through smoothly. Opposition’s coordination meetings held very actively during the last sitting have ended.
The fact that the BJP victories have given the NDA an upper hand in the upcoming presidential polls has also undone a possible post-result platform for many Opposition parties. The main Opposition, Congress, is dispirited, especially after its ambitious UP plan with SP failed.
The Congress president and VP are out of the country and the party seems to be using the interim for recovery from shock. In-house discussions will happen only after they return. AIADMK, the second-largest Opposition, seems to be preoccupied with the post-Jaya rift in the party and concerns about the stability of its TN government.
The Trinamool Congress, the third largest Opposition, that has been indulging in one-upmanship against the Centre, looks tame, coinciding with the Kolkata high court ordering a CBI probe into the Narada tapes. If the Mulayam family-war and electoral rout have left SP MPs a divided group, Mayawati’s BSP too looks exhausted.
“The results have really gone bad. It will take some time for us to get over it, analyse and plan the future course. BJP victories have made it imperative for us to work towards larger unity, which will happen slowly but steadily,” a senior Opposition leader said.
While there have been several calls for ‘larger anti-BJP alliance’, the saffron electoral wave has swept away the Opposition’s unity and aggression in both Houses of Parliament, which had seen the washout of the first phase of the budget session over demonetisation.
Post-results, both Houses have been functioning smoothly, with the government easily getting bills passed and the chair completing listed businesses each day. The contentious Enemy Property Act has already been passed and the bills related to enabling GST too are expected to sail through smoothly. Opposition’s coordination meetings held very actively during the last sitting have ended.
The fact that the BJP victories have given the NDA an upper hand in the upcoming presidential polls has also undone a possible post-result platform for many Opposition parties. The main Opposition, Congress, is dispirited, especially after its ambitious UP plan with SP failed.
The Congress president and VP are out of the country and the party seems to be using the interim for recovery from shock. In-house discussions will happen only after they return. AIADMK, the second-largest Opposition, seems to be preoccupied with the post-Jaya rift in the party and concerns about the stability of its TN government.
The Trinamool Congress, the third largest Opposition, that has been indulging in one-upmanship against the Centre, looks tame, coinciding with the Kolkata high court ordering a CBI probe into the Narada tapes. If the Mulayam family-war and electoral rout have left SP MPs a divided group, Mayawati’s BSP too looks exhausted.
“The results have really gone bad. It will take some time for us to get over it, analyse and plan the future course. BJP victories have made it imperative for us to work towards larger unity, which will happen slowly but steadily,” a senior Opposition leader said.
