Congress has the widest footprint at the national level to take on the BJP, but it must allow regional parties to be on the frontlines.

Every election provides certain messages to both winners and losers. And the Karnataka election has an unambiguous message for all opposition parties.

Whether you have the critical majority based on a pre-poll or post-poll alliance — you must realise that the current right-wing authoritarian regime at the centre with the well-oiled investigative agencies at its beck and call, shall not allow you to have a smooth political sailing like before.

The ruling party has created a new normal where constitutional morality or propriety is concerned. As a result, it has been decimating established traditions to grab power at any cost even as it brings irreparable damage to democracy.

In its politics of convenience, it has a sinister design to follow multiple sets of rules to suit its hunger for brute power.

With the support of a section of committed media, the members of the ruling party has mastered the craft of projecting what is good for them as legally, ethically and constitutionally correct. If something goes against them, it will be branded as the ‘murder of democracy’.

Karnataka and Bihar are the appropriate examples of their self claimed probity and totalitarian mindset. Goa, Manipur, Meghalaya, J&K are other instances where the ‘end’ makes them choose and justify the means, even if it goes on to strangulate democracy itself.

Opposition parties need to understand and recognize these concerted attacks on democracy and its institutions. Opposition parties must understand the need to discard the differences and unite in the larger interest of protecting the opening line of preamble of our Constitution: ‘we the people of India’.

Make no mistake. It is a fight between Godse’s idea of India represented by Sangh Parivaar versus the Gandhi, Ambedkar and Lohia’s idea of India.

History would judge us by the steps opposition parties take at this time. Recent developments have shown that constitutional values and democratic nuances are in danger. The opposition parties and civil society organisations are not up against a political party but a dangerous right-wing ideology called RSS.

It is difficult to understand why the opposition continues to remain in sleep mode.

Karnataka elections results have reiterated the message that all the opposition parties need to come together on a progressive blue-print committed to subaltern empowerment. Parties in the opposition also have to acknowledge that the Indian National Congress has the widest footprint at the national level and is hence the alternative to BJP -RSS. At the same time, Congress must also accept that it must allow the regional outfits in each state to occupy the frontal-attack position against BJP.

Often, the Congress stresses the value of larger opposition unity but falls short of giving de facto shape to it. The Congress has to take a proactive lead by accommodating the social coalitions of regional parties. Post-2014, only regional parties have been able to stop the BJP in their respective states i.e Lalu Prasad in Bihar, Mamata Banerjee in West Bangal, Arvind Kejriwal in Delhi. Punjab is the only exception.

RJD president Lalu Prasad was the first one to sense the anti-people right wing agenda of BJP and thus decided to make an alliance with Nitish Kumar, who enjoyed a long stint of comfort with BJP-RSS earlier. Setting aside the long history of political animosity, he stitched grand alliance wherein he offered the position of chief minister to Nitish Kumar, despite being the larger party. The Congress party should keep this in mind when it builds the future coalition.

Knowingly or otherwise, Congress has indeed made miscalculations with respect to alliances with regional parties. For example, it broke its longstanding, tested and formidable coalition with Sharad Pawar’s NCP in Maharashtra, Badruddin Ajmal’s AUDF in Assam, Hemant Soren’s JMM in Jharkhand, NCP and BSP in Gujarat, Communists in Tripura and most recently now Deve Gowda’s JD(S) in Karnataka.

The need of the hour in the upcoming elections of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh is that the Congress must try to bring SP-BSP and other independent smaller groups into an alliance. It must provide them philosophical and ideological support but allow them the front-line attacking position. In important states like UP, Bihar and West Bengal, Congress should deploy the dominant regional player to challenge BJP head-on.

Such politico-social coalition shall help Congress in the 200 seats where they are in direct contest with BJP.

The author is political adviser to Tejashwi Yadav, former deputy CM & leader of opposition, Bihar assembly.