If Modi does not become the prime minister in 2019, one can’t expect him to sit in Parliament as the Leader of the Opposition, as his megalomania won’t allow him to take up such trifling posts.
I have little doubt in my mind that Modi will play the ‘naughty boy’ in ‘class’ so that a billion-plus people appoint the ‘naughtiest boy’ as the ‘class monitor’ aka prime minister – again.
Ensuring Modi’s True Defeat...
It is in the larger interest of the politics of liberalism and inclusive development that Prime Minister Modi keeps his seat in 2019-2024, albeit with a diminished majority in the Lok Sabha. Modi will have an easy excuse for not forming the government if he is restricted to around 150 seats but he will be compelled to form the government if he has 200-220 seats in the Lok Sabha.
I am of the opinion that the sine qua non for the present Opposition to the present ruling regime ought not be in merely ensuring an electoral defeat for Modi through strategic alliances, but to permanently reduce the chances of a repetition of such a dominant electoral performance by such a person as Modi.
This would be a great service to the protection of the idea of India as an inclusive democracy.
If the Modi-led BJP’s ascent is stymied through tactical opposition alliances, the prima donna party will, in all probability, beat the alliance anyway, as it is likely to an effective opposition in highlighting the contradictions in the alliance.
Thus, it is not surprising that most mahagathbandhans or grand alliances either do not last their terms or provide ineffective governance. The case of the Samyukta Vidhayak Dals in Uttar Pradesh, Janata Experiment and the recent Bihar example come to mind.
... But How?
The only way of ensuring a permanent defeat for Modi is not by electorally defeating him in the upcoming elections. It can be done only by exposing Modi in a way that our generation does not see the rise of such a person again, one who relies on the basest instincts of core supporters, and furthers communalism, bigotry and violence by proxy – ‘outsourcing’ these to the masses, so that the power centres can be absolved.
It is in the ideological Opposition’s interest to see that Narendra Modi becomes the prime minister with 200-220 seats so that a billion plus people can see him for what he really is – someone who believes he is the ‘Chosen One’.
It will be the beginning of the end for Modi when he has to sit in the Lok Sabha with 200-220 seats, having to counter one single opposition party having 100+ seats. The obvious pitfalls of ‘my way or the highway’ approach will be highlighted then, and perhaps hare-brained schemes like demonetisation will be avoided.
It is important that my colleagues accept that it was a cathartic moment for many Indians when Modi became the prime minister in 2014, and I don’t see that enchantment as having faded away substantially amongst that particular section. One ought to focus on ensuring not merely Modi’s electoral defeat (from which he can most definitely recover), but to work towards his permanent political defeat.
One must not allow Modi the right to complain that he is the ‘victim’ of an opportunistic alliance. He ought to be exposed as a person who got two terms as the prime minister of the world’s largest democracy but could not deliver.
(The writer is a lawyer. This is a reader’s blog and the views expressed are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for them.)
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