Another game, after the one in Bengal in which the Trinamul Congress trounced the Bharatiya Janata Party, is now afoot. This one has the nation — not Bengal — as the turf. In the course of her Martyrs’ Day address, Mamata Banerjee — several leaders of the Opposition were all ears — reiterated the need for forging unity among like-minded parties to take the battle to the BJP in the forthcoming general elections. Ms Banerjee’s appeal is based on practical, not ideological, considerations. Individual parties in the Opposition — the Congress is an example — have failed to take Narendra Modi and his party to task notwithstanding their numerous policy failures. Ms Banerjee believes that there is strength in numbers: a United Opposition can, she hopes, pose a more potent political threat to the BJP that is well-entrenched electorally. The other point about a concerted effort is equally pragmatic. Ms Banerjee is aware that the biggest danger to Opposition unity is the contradictory pulls and pressures within its ranks. That calls for a planned, coordinated approach.

Yet, stitching up a national alliance is easier said than done. This is because the Opposition, a fragmented coalition of parties with pockets of influence, is confronted with several problems. Parliamentary elections are increasingly turning personality-oriented. The Opposition must, therefore, find a leader of stature to take on Mr Modi who, in spite of his blunders, commands a formidable following. It will be interesting to see whether the Opposition can cobble up such a consensus candidate. Ms Banerjee, interestingly, desisted from throwing her hat into the ring. The dilemma about mutual, state-level antipathy between many of the partners of the alliance, if there were to be one, needs to be addressed too. Would the electorate be accommodating of a coalition of proverbial strange bedfellows? The BJP would undoubtedly exploit these chinks in the Opposition armour. A possible counter-strategy would be for the Opposition to highlight bread and butter issues that affect the lives of the people. An unchecked pandemic, a devastated economy, encroachment on India’s territorial sovereignty, spiralling prices of fuel and other essentials — each of these issues would have been enough to corner any elected government. Mr Modi is blessed to have an Opposition that has not been able to capitalize on these thus far.