It was a discussion that epitomised the topic: is the Opposition powerless against the Modi juggernaut. A palpably excited audience at the Stein auditorium at India Habitat Centre, Delhi, during the
Times Lit Fest 2017 made any talk of a counter to
Narendra Modi, country's Prime Minister, seem redundant even as panelists - either DMK's R Kannan or JD(U)'s Pavan K Varma - tried to talk of alternatives to the Modi magic.
"Like
Gujarat
gave us Modi, perhaps it will also give the alternative. The Gujarat elections is a chance for
Rahul Gandhi to come into his own," said Kannan. Asked if DMK would support
Congress in 2019 if Rahul Gandhi is the prime ministerial candidate, Kannan replied in the affirmative. "BJP and Congress represent 50% of the vote share. The rest is shared amongst regional parties," added Kannan in support of why Congress was needed as an alternative.
But is it possible for BJP to replicate 2014 in the next elections?
Pavan Varma
of JD(U) doesn't think so. "The gulf between what was promised and what has been delivered is too much. There may not be criticism but robust interrogation is taking place...people are beginning to ask questions," added the JD(U) spokesperson.
The reason for the Modi magic though seems harder to pin down. While author and political analyst Akash Singh Rathore felt it was more a failure of the opposition rather than simply a self-constructed juggernaut, economist Arun Kumar added that the space for the Modi government had actually been created by the opposition. "Demonetisation and GST have had a negative impact, which will take a long time for India's economy to recover from. Especially as it impacted the informal unorganised sector," noted Kumar.
Yet, despite the many questions over the government's policies, Modi's popularity remains high, and a viable alternative still seems to remain elusive, admitted the panellists. JD(U)'s Varma said that Modi has "successfully hijacked the nation" while Kumar said that it was too early to come out with a name perhaps. According to Rathore, "Our political imagination is so limited that we cannot find alternatives to Modi." Looking at Modi's popularity in the audience though, it seems there's some way to go before that political imagination is achieved.
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