Message behind the grand Opposition unity ahead of presidential polls
India Today
Opposition leaders coming together in support of presidential candidate Yashwant Sinha might be seen just as a show of strength. But there is a bigger message behind the Opposition unity.
Yashwant Sinha, Opposition's joint presidential candidate, filed his nomination papers on Monday, flanked by leaders from various Opposition parties. The event might be seen just as a show of strength in support for Sinha, but there is a bigger message: Opposition unity in the run up to the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
“It is the rainbow coloured collation of the best values in the country,” said TMC MP Professor Saugata Roy, while describing the coming together of Opposition parties to pick a joint candidate for presidential poll.
“17 Opposition [parties] came together. This will lead to total Opposition consolidation before Lok Sabha 2024,” Saugata Roy added.
On Monday, Presidential hopeful Yashwant Sinha said that this coming together of 'like-minded' Opposition parties is just the beginning and stated that the BJP will not reap the benefits of dividing Opposition vote bank in 2024.
According to political experts, this statement by Sinha has a lot of weight as the Opposition parties combined enjoy 63 per cent of vote share.
“We always stood for unity of like-minded Opposition parties. If Opposition unites, it can prevent a split in 63% voters who didn’t vote for the BJP-led NDA in 2019. This will give an edge to Opposition camp,” said Nasir Hussain, the Congress whip in Rajya Sabha.
READ | Presidential polls: Flanked by Rahul Gandhi, Sharad Pawar, Yashwant Sinha files nomination
