Bright Prospects Of INDIA Bloc-CJP Coordination On National Issues Have Emerged

By Nitya Chakraborty

INDIA Bloc, the anti-BJP front of the opposition parties will be meeting at Hyderabad shortly to review the national situation since its last meeting on June 8 in New Delhi. In the last two months, there have been major positive developments for INDIA Bloc which have helped in rejuvenating the anti-BJP opposition. The first and foremost is the big success of the newly set up body of students and youth, the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), in compelling the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to sack his education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, in the wake of an unprecedented stir against the government for failure of its education policies.

The second is the win of the Jan Suraaj Party candidate Prashant Kishor defeating the BJP candidate in the by poll for Bankipur assembly in Bihar. In the last thirty years, the BJP has been representing this seat, last few times by its present president Nitin Nabin. This Bankipur has always been considered as one of the strongest seats for BJP in Bihar which is ruled by the BJP now with its own Chief Minister. But still, there was a big anti-BJP swing leading to the big defeat of the BJP candidate. PK is not the candidate of the INDIA Bloc, the RJD candidate of the INDIA Bloc was third. But the most important thing was that a large section of earlier pro-BJP voters voted against their own party in the by poll.

Taking into account these two developments, INDIA Bloc leaders have to chalk out their programmes so that the generation Z which responded in a big way to anti government stir last month on education policies failures, are brought into the fold of the opposition’s broader movement against the present NDA government demanding educational reforms and creation of jobs through reorientation of the employment policy and the youth training programmes.

It is a good coincidence that the CJP has just ended its two day brainstorming session and announced its national programme to take effect from September 1.CJP members and supporters throughout the country will participate in their Kya Bolti Public outreach sessions with the common people seeking their views on education, unemployment and governance engaging directly with the citizens. CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke was clear that CJP’s ideology was rooted in Constitution and Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. B R Ambedkar and Jawaharlal Nehru are their inspiration. The CJP is committed to secularism, democracy and social justice.

This CJP’s charter fits totally with the INDIA Bloc’s ideals and there is big scope for both the INDIA Bloc parties and the CJP to cooperate at the state level as also at the national level. In the course of the agitation, especially in the last stage before the CJP won their demands. Rahul Gandhi has been in constant touch with the protesters. The Congress, Left parties and the Samajwadi Party have been in the forefront for supporting the demands of the CJP. So that way, already a base has been built for a sort of cooperation. This can be organically linked now at organizational level based on the respective programmes of both, keeping their organisation’s separate identity. Three student bodies of the three Left parties CPI, CPI(M) and CPI(ML)-L- AISF, SFI and AISA actively worked for the success of Jantar Mantar protests.

At the June 8 meeting, the INDIA Bloc decided on a fivefold strategy to intensify its operations against the ruling BJP government. Any understanding with the CJP is sure to impart a fresh dimension to the nature of the coming campaign with vigorous participation of more members of the Gen Z. CJP founder Dipke exactly mentioned of the same issues- misuse of agencies like ED and CBI against political opponents and inadequate accountability within the Election Commission. These are the common issues for INDIA Bloc also. So the coming campaign can get more teeth if both sides focus these burning issues and coordinate their respective campaigns.

It is now an established fact that Rahul Gandhi has been getting more and more support from the Gen Z and he has been consistently exposing the gross failure of the economic policies of the Modi government leading to acute joblessness. Of late, the Congress MP has also started his Students outreach state after state. This is a good strategy to reach the students and youth a major section of whom were supporters of the PM Modi till recently.

The Gen Z protests at Jantar Mantar have exploded the myth that the PM is invincible and he is the only visionary for building a high tech New India. The brand image of Narendra Modi carefully built and sustained by his advisers and communication consultants in the last 12 years of his rule at the centre, has got busted now. But the fact is that though his support base among the youth got a jolt in July this year, he remains still the idol to a vast section of youth and students. This has to be further curbed if the INDIA Bloc and the CJP want to achieve their aims. There is a good opportunity now for taking the anti-Modi movement to a new high in the coming months. It now depends how the INDIA Bloc and the CJP use their respective cards to achieve their objectives. (IPA Service)