Post-Demonetisation, equation among national & regional parties changing

KOLKATA: While Congress has so far failed to bring together a united opposition of national and regional parties, its list of friends seems to be getting updated constantly.

While Mamata Banerjee’s TMC warmed up to Sonia Gandhi’s call for an united Opposition, Congress alliance partners in assembly polls in Bihar and West Bengal, Nitish Kumar’s JDU and CPM, categorically refused to be present at the Opposition meet in the Capital.

Other larger regional parties and former UPA allies like NCP, SP, BSP and smaller ones like AAP, too, decided to stay away from the meeting, despite their opposition to the demonetisation drive.

While BJP appears to be happy at the prospect of a not-so-united opposition, the big question now is over the fate of coalition politics that controlled the country since the 1990s. A senior TMC leader blamed internal glitches for the disunity .

"We are seeing internal issues that are preventing the parties to come under one umbrella." If this condition prevails, then it will be difficult to go for the coalition politics in the country."

Most of the 16 large opposition parties, including BJD, stayed away from the meeting called by Congress. Even among those who attended, no senior leader barring Congress and TMC were seen at the meeting.

When the meeting to set a common minimum programme was on, CPM’s Sitaram Yechury was visiting Dhulagarh in Bengal that witnessed communal tension few days back.