April 1, 2024
NEW DELHI – India’s rainbow opposition alliance put up its strongest show of unity yet at a “Save Democracy” rally on March 31, hoping to convert recent run-ins with government agencies into electoral support.
Opposition parties have accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of using investigating agencies to stymie their campaigns by cutting off funds and arresting leaders, weeks before the general elections. India will vote in seven-phase elections starting on April 19, with official results expected on June 4.
The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance, or India, comprises more than two dozen opposition parties across the country.
Opposition heavyweights from across the country shared the stage in a show of strength to protest against the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal by the Enforcement Directorate on March 21 on a graft charge related to the sale of liquor, and the freezing of several bank accounts of the Congress party by the income tax department.
Gandhi siblings Rahul and Priyanka of the Congress party, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, and Peoples Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti were among the dozens of opposition leaders who addressed the rally at Ramlila Ground in New Delhi.
“This election is not about votes. It’s about saving the Constitution,” Mr Gandhi told the rally.
In February, the income tax department froze Congress’ bank accounts on charges of delays in filing tax returns. Mr Gandhi said the inability to fund its election campaign had “crippled” it.
The tax department on March 29 demanded 1.35 billion rupees (S$21.8 million) in fines for the income tax infractions between 2017 and 2021.
“Why couldn’t this be done six months later, and (instead of) just before the elections?” asked Mr Gandhi.
The opposition alliance has now asked the Election Commission to ensure a “level playing field” for all parties.
Former Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren, whose party Jharkhand Mukti Morcha is in the opposition alliance, is also in jail over an alleged land scam. He was arrested in January.
The BJP has denied any political motivation behind the investigations against opposition leaders, which have also attracted rare criticism from the United States.
Twice, the US expressed concern over the arrest of Kejriwal, leading to a diplomatic protest by India. On March 29, a US state department spokesperson said the US encouraged “fair, transparent and timely legal processes for each of these issues”. India reacted by calling the remarks unwarranted and added that “such external imputation on our electoral and legal processes is completely unacceptable.”
Mr Stephane Dujarric, the spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, told reporters in response to a question that he hoped “everyone is able to vote in an atmosphere that is free and fair”.
Kejriwal’s arrest in particular has received widespread international and domestic coverage. The Delhi chief minister had built his party on an anti-corruption wave that swept the country over a decade ago, and had slowly but steadily increased his political influence on a mix of soft Hindu nationalism and focus on education and health.
The 55-year-old politician, who has been working to expand the political influence of his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), has remained defiant and said that he would continue to run Delhi from jail. He has continued to issue orders, including to ensure water supply in areas that saw shortages.
Kejriwal’s wife, Ms Sunita Kejriwal, a former income tax official, has come to the fore, expressing concern about her diabetic husband’s incarceration.
At the rally, she read out her husband’s fresh poll promises to the country, including uninterrupted 24-hour electricity supply, free electricity for the poor nationwide, and the building of government schools in every village and neighbourhood.
At the rally, AAP supporters said that putting Kejriwal in jail would not deter the party or its workers.
“If he (Kejriwal) is guilty, put him in jail. But it has to be proven. You can’t just pick someone up and throw them in jail,” said AAP worker Meena Sharama, 60, from the state of Punjab. AAP is in power in Delhi and Punjab.
Analysts said there was no doubt that the arrest of Kejriwal, in particular, had unified the opposition.
But journalist and author Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay noted that with him in jail, AAP had lost its key campaigner.
“During the election campaign, it is important to draw crowds. The leadership of AAP is essentially personality-centric around Mr Kejriwal,” said Mr Mukhopadhyay.
He noted: “The party will waver a bit. But eventually the spirit of the party would enable new leadership to take charge as a stopgap arrangement.”
Opinion polls have predicted a landslide win for the BJP, which needs a minimum of 273 out of the 543 elected seats in the Lower House of Parliament for an absolute majority.
The BJP in 2019 won 303 seats and the Congress, 52.
The action against the opposition parties has thrown up multiple questions over how it will play out among voters, and whether it would create a sympathy wave, especially for Kejriwal.
The AAP’s areas of influence remain mainly Punjab and Delhi, where it is in power and has a total of 20 parliamentary seats.
“This could be a tipping point in galvanising the anti-BJP votes. Kejriwal in jail may be more dangerous (politically) than Kejriwal outside,” said journalist Paranjoy Guha Thakurta.
On the flip side, a key question for the opposition is whether its campaign on saving democracy would translate into electoral votes.
Bread-and-butter issues like inflation and unemployment, apart from Hindu nationalism and the popularity of Mr Modi, are those that resonate with voters.
“This ‘fight for democracy’ is a more academic debate widely circulated among journalists, academicians and a few opinion makers,” said Professor Sanjay Kumar at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies. “This is not an issue for common voters.”