There is no denying that the political renaissance owes its birth to the counter narrative set by the Bharat Jodo Yatra of Rahul Gandhi. The resolve of the leaders to fight the tyranny and repression let loose by Modi got reflected in their determination to come together forgetting the past differences. The determination is exceptional because every leader at the meeting made it clear that the purpose of unity mattered most and this time it was not to grab power but to save India’s democracy from the machinations of the RSS-BJP.

The important achievement of the meet was the comeback of Lalu Yadav on the political scene and his participation at the deliberations. Of all the opposition leaders, he has suffered most at the hands of the BJP rulers. Even while leaders were busy discussing the modalities, Lalu Yadav in his own style moved one step ahead and projected Rahul as the opposition face. He asked Rahul; “why are u not marrying. Get ready. We will participate as Baratis in your marriage procession”. Later addressing a press conference he said, "Lord Hanuman thrashed BJP with his mace in Karnataka and made Rahul Gandhi's Congress party win. He said lord Hanuman was with the Opposition, and it was certain that BJP would face massive defeat in the upcoming polls”.

The leaders were conscious of the threat that the Narendra Modi government poses to the country and the need to make the political sacrifices required to forge solidarity among like-minded parties. But they were not scared. Barring an immature outburst by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), leader Arvind Kejriwal who was more interested of his own agenda the entire leadership was united on the issue of fighting BJP-RSS machination. For them every other issue was secondary.

Even Mamata who has been at the target of the Congress and Left Front in her state, gave top priority to fight BJP-RSS unitedly. She even said; “Let our blood flow, if the need arises, but we will protect our people. If the BJP comes to power once again, we will no longer have elections in the future. We are all together, and we will stand united, fight united, and our next meeting will be in Shimla”. Mamata was quite positive towards Rahul Gandhi at the meet their vibes signalled that both of them were determined to sort out differences at the state level to fight the bigger enemy at the Lok Sabha polls.

The first meeting of opposition parties held in Patna on Friday sowed the seeds of unity, resolving to clear the hurdles on the ground at the next such interaction in Shimla next month. In the backdrop of predictions by the Naysayers that the meet would fail to fructify, the meet was the most significant achievement and development against the authoritarian rule.

Most of these leaders have been at the target of the ED and CBI which were acting at the behest of Amit Shah, even then they mustered courage to voice their protest by participating at the meet. It is certainly not an insignificant achievement as it gave birth to a resolve to unite and fight the 2024 parliamentary elections together.

DMK supremo MK Stalin had put forth seven suggestions including forming an alliance under the leadership of a party influential in the state, and if this was not possible then seat sharing could be considered. This does not prove to be a contentious issue. Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge while addressing the press clarified that the state based parties would have major say in finalising the modalities of the contest and fielding of candidates. He also announced that the next meeting of opposition leaders would be held in Shimla in Himachal Pradesh next month."We have decided to prepare a common agenda and will take decisions in the next meeting on how to move forward," he said. "We will have to evolve separate plans for every state and we will work together to dethrone the BJP at the Centre," he added.

The leaders have virtually come to subscribe Nitish Kumar's strategy for the united opposition; one candidate-one seat; against the BJP. Moreover, the opposition is also clear that it cannot wrest every constituency from the BJP. The opposition nevertheless shares one common view that Congress is the main potent force against BJP, notwithstanding Kejriwal’s stand that AAP is the real challenger. The mood of the house sent the clear message that Kejriwal cannot override the views of all the leaders. His obstinacy to prevail upon the leaders to listen to his problem and come to his aid has in fact alienated almost all the leaders. National Conference leader Omar Abdullah sought to know why he had supported the abrogation of 370. Kejriwal who harped on fighting the BJP’s attack on Delhi could not reply to Omar’s question.

The proceedings of the meet make it amply clear that June 23 meeting will pave the way to script history in which the opposition parties will defeat the autocratic RSS-BJP regime. Realising the intensity of the gains the Naysayers have started saying that the Shimla meeting is proposed as the June 23 meet could not make much progress. This is an attempt to distort Rahul’s emphasis that they are in engaged in an ideological battle against the RSS worldview and that every party would have to show flexibility despite political and personal differences.

Being aware of the importance of the mega meet, RSS and BJP eco system, are using every possible weapon as their command to attack opposition, especially the Congress. One thing is also noticeable. The opposition leaders are mellowed towards the Congress and the Congress also is talking of being flexible in its relationships with the opposition parties. Rahul Gandhi has shown much maturity. The parties are getting the feeling that the Congress can be trusted to lead the opposition.

For the opposition, the next follow up meeting is at Shimla hosted by the Congress president on July 12. It is expected that by that time, the Congress-AAP rift on the central ordinance will be sorted out, A few more parties may join the Shimla meet which will discuss the crucial issue of seat sharing to fight the BJP on one on one basis inthe2024 Lok Sabha polls. Problems are there but if the Patna spirit prevails, it will be possible for the opposition to arrive at viable formula. More meetings might be needed but the efforts which have started have to be led to successful conclusion. (IPA Service)