REWIND

New Delhi, 6 November 2025

OPPOSITION CHANCES BRIGHTEN

By Inder Jit

(Released on 27 April 1982) 

Opposition prospects in the mini-general poll are looking up. At long last, good sense appears to be prevailing with some of its top leaders. The controversial Chandigarh Convention largely belied Janata expectations and failed to bring about overall Opposition unity. The Convention eventually turned out to be a case of two steps forward and one step back. The Janata and the Congress (S) have moved closer. Nevertheless, the convention has proved to be a blessing in disguise for the Lok Dal -- and by implication for the BJP and those eager to see the Opposition put up a good fight against the ruling Congress(I). The Lok Dal faced a split before the Convention. Nothing, it seemed, could keep Mr Charan Singh and Mr Devi Lal together. A break occurred when Mr Biju Patnaik, Mr Devi Lal and Mr Kumbharam Arya attended the Convention. But the Convention induced second thoughts and stimulated intervention by intermediaries. The result? The Lok Dal is united again in Haryana. Mr Charan Singh and Mr Devi Lal have buried the hatchet -- at least for the present.

But the poll kaleidoscope may still undergo a change. Frantic efforts are on among the Opposition parties -- formally and informally -- to present a de facto united front against the Congress (I) in all the four States of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, West Bengal and Kerala. What may eventually happen on the D-day, May 19, is anybody's guess. Time was when a reasonably clear picture of the election scene was available on the last day for filing nominations. Now bargaining continues not only until the nominations are filed but beyond. A firmer idea of the forthcoming battle of the hustings can now be expected only tomorrow evening -- after the time permitted for withdrawal of nomination is over. This follows what may be described as the new poll culture. Selections of party candidates are nowadays put off until the last minute. All aspirants are advised to file nominations. Those denied the coveted tickets are then asked to withdraw. But matters do not end there. Not all pay heed. Further, some adjustments are made even a day or two before the poll.

Much of the trouble in hammering out poll adjustments arises because of the incorrigible habit among the rival Opposition parties to stake bigger claims to the pie in the sky than justified by facts on the ground. Exaggerated demands are put forward for a share in the power still to be acquired and the government yet to be formed. Few spare a thought either for the ways and means of winning the poll battle ahead or for the hazards involved in any breakdown of poll adjustment talks as a result of such unwise postures. Normally, exaggerated claims would pose no problem. These could always be thrashed out behind closed doors. But once such parleys founder both sides get hurt. Indeed, they end up worse off than if they had decided at the outset against adjustments and declared: "We shall go it alone." In the present case, trouble erupted when the Lok Dal decided to take 60 seats out of 90 in Haryana and asked for 30 seats out of 68 in Himachal. Clearly, it was playing for its own government in Haryana and for a share in the Himachal pie notwithstanding the fact that it did not have even one MLA in the hill State.

The BJP, for its part, pressed for some principled and practical approach for thrashing out the issue of mutual adjustments. It reasoned: "Let us be objective and realistic. Let us work out some agreed criteria for determining respective claims which are tenable and credible." It then proposed that the adjustments be determined on the basis of three considerations. First, the present strength of the two parties in the Haryana and Himachal Assemblies. Second, the showing of each party in the last general poll, namely the respective votes polled in the Assembly segments of the 1980 Lok Sabha election. Third, the present state of the party in each constituency. (Explained a BJP leader: "Any party's position would be affected if its prominent leader, for instance, was found to have defected, say, to the ruling Congress.) The Lok Dal has 29 MLAs in Haryana, the BJP 11 and the Janata 4 in a House of 90. In the Lok Sabha poll, the Lok Dal was ahead in 51 Assembly segments and the BJP in 39.

The Lok Dal expectedly argued that this would not be fair criteria since the BJP in 1980 was not alone and the votes polled by it included those of the Janata Party. But the BJP pressed the Lok Dal to accept the analysis on the plea that various by-elections had shown that the BJP was now polling more on its own. In the case of Sagar bye-election to the Lok Sabha, for instance, the Congress (I) had won the seat in 1980 by over 70,000 votes. But in the by-election last year, the BJP candidate bagged the seat by over 1,40,000 votes. However, what persuaded the Lok Dal to accept the BJP's analysis was the gesture initially made by the BJP in seeking poll adjustment with the Lok Dal. The BJP, it may be recalled, decided to seek poll adjustment with the Lok Dal at the time of the Chandigarh convention when the Lok Dal was virtually split. Some BJP leaders then wanted the party to keep its options open until after the convention. But top BJP leaders overwhelmingly decided in favour of a poll deal with the "official Lok Dal", headed by Mr Charan Singh.

At one stage, the Congress (J), headed by Mr Jagjivan Ram, posed a problem. The Lok Dal was inclined to equate the BJP with the Congress (J) and offer each 15 seats or give them a total of 30 while keeping 60 seats for itself. But the issue was resolved when the BJP argued that winning the election and getting a majority of seats in the new Assembly by itself was not enough. Forming a good, stable ministry was even more important. The Lok Dal and the BJP could win the poll battle and yet lose the war if people who could not be trusted were brought in or permitted to come. Specifically, it raised doubts about the quality of Congress (J) candidates. The argument was clinched as the BJP leaders added: "The Congress (J) is demanding some 25 to 30 seats. You are offering them 15 seats. But do they have even 15 candidates today. The truth is that they do not have even 10 candidates. Of course, they will have 90 candidates and more once the Congress (I) list is out. All those denied tickets by the Congress (I) will make a beeline for the Congress (J). Do we want such candidates? Can we trust them?"

What about the Janata and the Congress (S)? Curiously, neither the Lok Dal nor the BJP would have anything to do with them. True, neither the Janata nor the Congress (S) has much of a following in either Haryana or Himachal. However, prior to the Chandigarh convention both the Lok Dal and the BJP were willing to make adjustments with the two parties and virtually fight as a united front. The convention appears to have brought about a sea change. Mr Charan Singh feels greatly embittered by the Janata Party's manoeuvres and its "efforts to isolate him and undermine the Lok Dal." The convention also greatly upset the BJP's National Executive. The Janata's move was seen as playing into the hands of Mrs Gandhi. Mr Charan Singh and Mr Devi Lal, it was argued, would now get involved in a war to the knife and the Congress (I) alone would benefit. But there is another reason for its refusal to have any truck with the Janata. The BJP is willy-nilly left with the clear impression that the Janata is today more anti-BJP than anti-Congress and determined to do its worse against it.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission's decision to come out with a code of conduct for the political parties during the poll has provided a welcome boost to the Opposition morale. The ruling Congress (I) may or may not go by the latest set of dos and donts. It can easily take protection behind the fact that it is not obliged to accept them. The code of conduct comprises various recommendations made by the Commission on the basis of its experience and the Supreme Court's judgement in the Ghasi Ram vs Dal Singh case. The then Chief Justice, Mr Hidayatullah, observed at that time that many practices followed in the elections might not be "corrupt" in the legal sense of the term. But they were "evil" and needed to be ended. The Commission is aware of the fact that it has no authority to enforce its recommendations. That power rests only with the Government, which can do the needful by executive order. However, the Commission has included these recommendations in its latest code mainly to create the right environment through what has carried weight in India down the ages: moral force.

The Janata Party practised the don'ts now recommended while it was in power at the Centre. Among other things, leading Janata lights avoided using Government aircraft or vehicles during elections -- or using public funds for party propaganda. Two instances will suffice. During the Assembly poll in June 1977, Mr L.K. Advani, Information and Broadcasting Minister, started from Bhopal for Kota by a private car. The vehicle broke down on the way. Another vehicle was hired. This, too, failed. Eventually, Mr Advani hitch-hiked his way to Kota in a public truck! Prior to the Chikmagalur by-election, Mr George Fernandes, Union Minister, approached Mr Advani and said in so many words: "Devraj Urs has launched a big propaganda campaign for Mrs Gandhi through huge government advertisements. Your Ministry, too, should come forward with government ads." However, Mr Advani politely declined and said: "Let the party bring out the ads. He could have easily directed the DAVP to advertise the Janata achievements. But then a principle was involved.

Ultimately, the Opposition showing in the forthcoming poll will depend upon the ability of its leaders to learn the bitter lessons of the 1980 polls and identify the common adversary. The Opposition parties could have done infinitely better in the elections to the State Assemblies in 1980 if only they had gone in for mutual adjustments on the basis of States, not of constituencies. UP could, for instance, have been left to the Lok Dal, Madhya Pradesh to the BJP and Gujarat to the Janata. A similar arrangement could be made even today among the Opposition parties. Haryana could be left to the Lok Dal and Himachal to the BJP, as the strongest Opposition parties in the two States. But this will be possible only if two conditions are satisfied. First, a victory of any Opposition party will have to viewed by the rest as their own triumph against the Congress (I). Second, the Lok Dal and the BJP will have to make statesmanlike gestures to the other parties. The poll battle will have to fought in terms of one Opposition candidate against one of Congress (I). There is no scope for dithering.--- INFA.

(India News and Feature Alliance)