But the grand alliance leaders tend to play down the threat. They attribute Mayawati’s stand to her one-upmanship game with the BhimSena and its chief Ravan and secure her claim to be the custodian of dalit votes and their natural leader. But this is not so simple. The Bhima incident that has been unfolding in Pune for last four days has made it clear that Mayawati is on a losing track. On paper she might claim to be the dalit leader but the reality is that she has lost the clout.

In MP and Rajasthan she had fought against Congress. Now she is resorting to arm twisting. The Congress leadership should be thanked for respecting her demand.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken against the RSS chief’s demand for the reason that he does not intend to alienate the urban people. But if Sangh sources are to be relied, they are planning to organise Kar-Seva for the construction of Ram Mandir. As a first step, the Sangh cadres will try to give a face lift to the site. They may not like to precipitate the issue as any such action would create problems for the Modi government and also antagonise the common people.

His rejection of the ordinance route will help Sangh Parivar to raise the issue in a more vociferous manner for attracting the hardcore Hindutva elements. In fact, just after Modi’s statement the frontal organisations and cadres have made it clear that they are not going to wait for eternity. They will strike at the right time.

One thing is absolutely clear that the 2019 election will be fought on rural issues, especially on the plight of the farmers and peasants. This means that after many years the rural issues will dominate the election scenario.

Although the Congress has won elections in three crucial states of the Hindi heartland, it is still not in a position to outwit the BJP and revive the old glory of the party. Rahul Gandhi, who had to face jibes and insults at the hands of his political adversaries, proved that he has come up to face the challenges and set his own agenda. The choice of Kamal Nath and Ashok Gehlot as chief ministers has sent the right message to the older people who are the backbone of the party.

At a time other political parties are either not getting younger people or are facing decline in the support base of older people, Rahul has been able to achieve a good mix of the two. This will put a major challenge to Modi-Amit Shah combine to ensure that the BJP retains power for the second time at the Centre.

There is no denying the fact that Rahul has emerged as the natural leader of the opposition, but challenges before him are arduous. With BSP and SP not willing to join hands with Congress, some leaders are of the opinion that state level coalitions would be the best option. The Congress in consultation with other parties may release a common minimum programme at national level, but the task of forming the coalition should be left to the regional parties. This strategy will ultimately help the Congress. Rahul must ensure that the smaller regional parties enjoy complete say as they have their own interest and compulsions. By offering to take care of the needs of the smaller parties, the Congress can really play the role of the major partner. (IPA Service)