The results of the recent Assembly elections to five States raise a valid question: Is the Opposition suffering from a death-wish? This question gets validated in at least two states where the ruling party was given victory on a platter. More than the ignominy of the defeats of the Opposition parties, what generates interest is that they gave a cake-walk to the BJP by pitting against one another, rather than fighting their main opponent. The BJP, arguably, would claim that it won the elections on the basis of its development agenda and it could convince the voters of its commitment to it. Simultaneously, it is finding success in sending the Opposition parties, at least the principal one at the national-level, to vanvas.

But the story from the ground seems to give a different version. The BJP’s path to success is made smoother by the Opposition parties themselves. A few examples from Uttar Pradesh and Goa would be suffice to prove this point. The Hyderabad-based AIMIM led by Asadudin Owaisi knew that it had little scope of winning any seat in UP, still it put up candidates in 95 seats. As expected, it did not win any seat; rather, it forfeited its security deposit in all but one seat. Election analysts say that the party damaged the winning chance of Samajwadi Party in several seats as the Owaisi party garnered more votes in these constituencies than the victory margin of the BJP. The Congress and the BSP too played spoilsport in the State. In Goa, Mamata Banerjee did the same by putting up her party’s candidates in 26 seats and it helped BJP romp home with slender margins in some places. Trinamool Congress could not win a single seat but it made the Congress bite the dust in the coastal State. AAP too helped BJP to win some seats. One is tempted to see truth in the charge that some of the regional parties acted like the B team of the BJP.  

The end result of the splintered Opposition, acting in cross-purposes, is that the ruling party gets emboldened to become authoritarian and despotic. Without a robust Opposition, democracy in India will be further weakened. A strong Opposition is indispensable to counter any attempt of the ruling party to act against the interest of the people. The ruling party will play its game of keeping the Opposition divided by hook or crook as it safeguards its interests. It is for the Opposition parties to make sure that they don’t fall into this trap. One may argue that every party has the right to expand its base, and fighting elections is the only way to achieve this objective. Simultaneously, every party has the responsibility to make sure that its actions do not go counter to the spirit of democracy.

However, some of the Opposition parties are committing the mistake of weakening democracy. The same mistake is done by the party-hopping leaders who have no commitment to any ideology, but only to their self-interest. If the parties continue to make the blunder by splitting votes to the extent of helping the ruling party to become arrogant, the fate of democracy in India will be in danger.