Why Opposition should have avoided putting presidential bet on Yashwant Sinha

In June 2013, the BJP was holding its National Executive in Goa. The meeting was expected to culminate with the appointment of then Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi as the head of the party’s election committee. The move was being considered a step in the direction of an eventual prime ministerial candidature. Some of the party’s old guard had therefore decided to skip the meet but the party officially maintained that they were absenting themselves due to ill health. That is when Yashwant Sinha, among the outspoken members of this faction, came out and announced, “I don’t have NaMonia (word play on pneumonia). I am in perfect health.” This was the beginning of the end of an already fledgling career, which could have otherwise ended with a dignified walk into the sunset, much like other leaders from the party’s old guard. Yashwant Sinha’s career graph explains why, despite holding some of the highest offices in the country, his anti-Modi undercurrent had zero effect on the party’s functioning, let alone the electorate’s decision-making. Sinha made a lateral entry into politics, serving as a senior bureaucrat until then. Initially, he was brought in by the Janata Party using the Rajya Sabha route. It was only after he joined the BJP that he was able to use the Lok Sabha route, and get elected arguably due to a robust party machinery. Sinha served in the Vajpayee government as both the external affairs and the finance minister at different intervals, with a ‘technocrat’ halo around him. His profile therefore leaned towards a secular elite one, and was quite incompatible with those who had risen through the party’s rank and file, or those of any mass leader for that matter. One of the ways Narendra Modi has blunted the charge of authoritarianism that his adversaries routinely level against him, has been to allow senior dissidents of his party to continue attacking him without acting against them. Both the opposition and the dissidents therefore quickly lose credibility when they broach the topic of authoritarianism. Moreover, the dissidents continue to rot within the party framework despite the party moving from one milestone to another, frustrating them further and increasing the frequency of their public meltdowns. This makes them a laughing stock in public discourse and further dents their credibility, and the vicious downhill cycle continues for them. There is no stopping it unless they themselves decide to pull the plug. But by the time they realize that they need to put an end to it, they have floated so far away from the mothership that the only option left with them is to quit the party and find another home. With their diminished reputation and their stature, their prospects within the opposition also reduce drastically. This is a quiet and warped way of finishing political careers that Modi has adopted, and Sinha has been the most prominent victim. Sinha found a home in the Trinamool Congress at a time when the party was rearing for a national expansion. In the BJP, Sinha was perceived as a dissident, but a former finance and external affairs minister of India taking over as the Vice President of a regional party exposed Sinha’s actual political value before the country. As luck would have it, within a few months the party realised that it had little scope outside Bengal. Sinha continued his tirade against the Modi government, often picking battles with random strangers on social media and using abusive language. There was no stopping the downward slide. Sinha was not the first choice for the united Opposition’s presidential candidate. Sharad Pawar, Farooq Abduallah, and Gopal Krishna Gandhi were some of the names that the opposition considered initially. Knowing well that it was a hopeless battle, the veteran leaders refused to put their heads on the line. The opposition then settled on Sinha. His candidature was symbolic, for he had served as a senior minister and left the BJP due to his opposition to Modi. But most importantly, it was expendable at the political level. If Sinha was to wrap up and retire after this race, it would make no difference whatsoever. Little did the Opposition realise what it was walking into. What the united opposition would have ideally wanted was a veteran of Indian politics making a symbolic pitch against the Modi dispensation, presenting the opposition as a credible alternative by losing with dignity, but making a mark nonetheless. Perhaps that is the reason Sinha’s abusive tweets soon disappeared from his profile. But eventually, the mask fell off again. The BJP’s pick, Droupadi Murmu, was a formidable one. A self-made woman leader from Odisha, Murmu would be the first tribal to occupy the highest office of the land. [caption id=“attachment_10912021” align=“alignnone” width=“640”]  NDA’s presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu[/caption] Instead of being graceful, Sinha was at his elitist worst, setting aside even the most basic courtesies. He went on national television and accused the BJP of “hiding behind an SC/ST lady”. As if this did not dent the opposition’s political prospects enough, Sinha went on to say that if he was elected as president, he would not allow the CAA to be implemented. On election day, he descended into one of his characteristic meltdowns, claiming that the government had used the central agencies and money power in the presidential elections. Other than turning the entire Opposition into a laughing stock, Sinha’s candidature and utterances also risk making the Opposition look anti-tribal, and further dividing the Opposition. Prominent Opposition parties have chosen to back Murmu instead of Sinha, demonstrating that a united Opposition still remains a pipedream. Surprisingly, UPA member and the ruling party of Sinha’s home state Jharkhand, the JMM, which could have spun Sinha’s candidature as a matter of pride for the state, chose to back Murmu. Sinha was forced to cancel his visit to Mumbai since no prominent leader in Maharashtra was willing to meet him.

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Also Read **Presidential elections: Parliament records 99.18% turnout as polling ends, Oppn MLAs cross vote in favour of Murmu** **In the presidential race, it’s Yashwant Sinha vs Droupadi Murmu: What the numbers reveal** **Yashwant Sinha promises to raise voice for farmers, unemployed youth if he wins presidential polls** **Yashwant Sinha dares Droupadi Murmu to take pledge not to be 'rubber-stamp Rashtrapati**

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’ If reports are to be believed, his own party boss Mamata Banerjee asked him to stay out of Bengal, in order not to antagonise the state’s tribal population. Nitish Kumar, a BJP ally who could have been a low-hanging fruit for the opposition to turn just to make a point, refused to even take Sinha’s calls. Moreover, the presidential polls saw massive cross-voting from MLAs across the country who feared being painted as anti-tribal, especially those belonging to the Congress party. Disobeying the leadership’s diktats and announcing it openly is likely to create massive fissures within prominent opposition parties like the Congress. There is a lesson for the Opposition from Sinha’s candidature — something as uncomplicated as the presidential elections could have been handled by the losing side with dignity, and without reducing its political stock unnecessarily. For the past eight years, mainstreaming the fringe is an approach that has fallen flat repeatedly for the Opposition. The Opposition must seriously ask itself if stunts like nominating Yashwant Sinha are worth undertaking at this juncture. The writer is an author and political commentator. He has authored the book, ‘Himanta Biswa Sarma: From Boy Wonder to CM’. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the stand of this publication. Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.