Budget Session: A no-show from a struggling opposition | Mumbai news

MUMBAI: For the opposition, the recently concluded budget just session can be summed up in two words – ‘squandered opportunities’.

At the very beginning of the four-week session, the BJP-led Mahayuti government was on the defensive due to the Beed sarpanch murder scandal. This was followed by the embarrassing resignation of NCP minister Dhananjay Munde, quickly followed by allegations of corruption against key ministers, alongside the growing financial crisis plaguing the state’s treasury.

Despite the artillery it was generously handed, it was a no-show from the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). Oddly enough, it was the ruling parties who turned their fire on each other, sometimes even occupying the space of the opposition parties!

Disorganised, fractured, and unable to seize the moment, legislators from the opposition Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) bore silent witness to the proceedings, letting every chance to put the Mahayuti on the mat slip by.

Political analysts say the MVA has never recovered from its crushing defeat in the November 2024 elections, their legislators floundering in the absence of a strategy during the session, which concluded on Wednesday.

From hoping to form the government after their impressive Lok Sabha showing in May, to securing just 50 seats in the legislative assembly, opposition MLAs couldn’t muster any fire or find their voice. The embarrassing numbers gave the treasury benches the upper hand, keeping the MVA from securing the post of leader of the opposition in the lower house. As the session dragged on, a struggling MVA kept haggling for the position, only managing to project itself as a weak and demoralised force.

Beed was first missed chance

“The Beed sarpanch murder was a major setback for the government, which was barely three months old then. Not only did the opposition fail to corner the government, senior minister Dhananjay Munde resigned, not due to the opposition but after pictures of the sarpanch’s brutal murder were circulated online, putting immense pressure on the government,” admitted a Congress leader requesting anonymity.

As the session unfolded, the opposition was handed more opportunities to strike, but they went unnoticed. Rural development minister Jaykumar Gore faced a fresh case harassment from a woman acquaintance, while agriculture minister Manikrao Kokate was convicted with a two-year sentence. “All this happened just ahead of the session, but the opposition did nothing with it,” said the Congress leader.

Just before the session concluded, the CBI submitted two closure reports in the Sushant Singh Rajput death case, concluding there was no foul play and that the actor had died by suicide. “The BJP, while in the opposition, had tried to turn the tables on the then ruling MVA government led by Uddhav Thackeray, alleging foul play and demanding a CBI investigation,” said the Congress leader.

When the closure report was filed, it was vindication for the MVA but, again, there was a deafening silence from the opposition benches. Rather, when the Disha Salian case was resurrected, the ruling Mahayuti had the Sena (UBT) on the back foot. In an unprecedented move, two ministers – Nitesh Rane and Shambhuraj Desai – stood up in the house and demanded the arrest of the Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray for his alleged involvement in the case.

Nagpur, another major miss

Even the March 17 Nagpur violence failed to rouse the MVA. The communal violence, which claimed one life and had parts of the city under curfew for days, followed a protest by right-wing organisations. An already fragile situation was further inflamed by provocative speeches from ‘Hindutvawadi’ minister Nitesh Rane. Also, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had to finally admit that the claims of BJP MLAs that women police personal were sexually harassed by the mob were false. The violence itself appeared to be a colossal intelligence failure – but the opposition failed to hold the government accountable.

“We tried our best to represent the people’s voice and their issues in the house, but the government was determined to suppress the opposition’s voice,” claimed Sena (UBT) group leader in the assembly Bhaskar Jadhav.

Differences between the MVA alliance partners, and lack of strategy to corner the government contributed the opposition’s no-show. The Congress was unhappy when Sena (UBT) leader Bhaskar Jadhav congratulated Fadnavis for his speech on the 75th anniversary of the Indian Constitution. A section of Congress leaders felt the Sena (UBT) was being obsequious as the party has staked its claim to the post of leader of the opposition.

Political analyst Padmabhushan Deshpande says, “Most opposition MLAs are newcomers and not familiar with the rules and legislative practices. Second, they fear that speaking up against the government will cost them funding for their constituencies or, worse, punitive action for raising their voice. Also, they are wary of sticking out their neck in case it contradicts the party leadership’s stand, like the one taken by the Sena (UBT) in the Disha Salian case. All this has weakened the opposition,” he said.

The opposition, however, performed better in the legislative council, possibly because the difference in strength between ruling and opposition legislators is not quite as much as it is in the assembly. Anil Parab, Sena (UBT) leader and MLC, remarked, “It is true that our performance in the lower house should have been better, but it is also because of the numbers. The treasury benches are relatively thin in the upper house compared to their mammoth strength in the lower house. Our members will have to go through training sessions to improve their performance in the next session.”

Unwittingly, Parab exposed the opposition’s Achille’s heel – the ‘numbers’ he mentioned are at the core of an MVA that has seems to have lost its drive.