6 min readMay 5, 2026 06:16 AM IST
First published on: May 5, 2026 at 06:16 AM IST
It is a moment of reckoning for the democratic Opposition. A moment to reflect. A moment to face some harsh truth. A moment to ask some hard questions.
Let there be no doubt about it: The window of opportunity offered by the stunning outcome of the Lok Sabha elections two years ago, ever narrowing since then, is firmly shut now. The conquest of Bengal is a leap forward in the BJP’s quest for total power. It is also a leap backwards in whatever remains of electoral integrity in contemporary India. Unless the Opposition goes back to the drawing board to reimagine its politics, revise its strategy and to rewire its election machine, democratic competition is all but dead. Unless someone or something steps in to rebalance the electoral playing field and restore a semblance of fairness, elections may no longer be the arena for articulation of popular will. And that is bad news, not just for the Opposition but also for the rulers.
Let the outcomes in Kerala and Tamil Nadu not distract us from this stark truth. All that has happened in Kerala is a resumption of a deferred oscillation in power. The routine desire for change and an accumulated unease with the LDF government finally caught up with it. The UDF was the natural beneficiary, with some arrears for the delayed transition added to its victory margin. The Opposition may take solace that the BJP has not expanded its vote share, but such consolation tends to be temporary in the face of the ruling juggernaut. If anything, the UDF’s over-dependence on minority votes in the state should worry it in the long run.
Dramatic and awe-inspiring as the success of Vijay’s TVK in Tamil Nadu is, it is no model to be replicated elsewhere. The DMK’s dominance with the attendant hubris and complacency created a need for an alternative. The ever-crumbling and rebuilt AIADMK did not fit the bill, also as it was seen to be a franchise for the BJP that went against the political culture of the state. The vacuum had to be filled by someone who fitted into Dravidian ideology but differed from the DMK’s political model. Following the well-trodden path laid down by MGR, a film star offered a charming and fresh alternative. It is important to note that while Vijay declared DMK as the “political opponent”, he identified BJP as an “ideological opponent”, declaring himself to be a follower of Periyar, Kamaraj and Ambedkar. Such a space is unique to this state.
Let the Opposition not hide behind any pretexts in Assam. True, the BJP had used the EC to gerrymander the constituency boundaries in a communal pattern to the BJP’s advantage at an unprecedented scale in India’s electoral history. The BJP awarded itself about 10 seats before any vote was cast. Also, the Assam CM unleashed brazen communal hatred against the “miyan” community while the EC and the SC watched. Yet that does not take away from the fact that the Opposition did not show any political will to take on the ruling party. The BJP government, especially the CM, was mired in charges of corruption. Zubin Garg’s death was a raw emotional issue that went against the government. Yet the Opposition never looked like it had gotten its act together. It was a textbook case of how to lose an election.
The Opposition in Bengal did not suffer these frailties. No one could accuse Mamata Banerjee of giving a walkover to the BJP. She had a strategy, the stamina and the system to take on the BJP’s steamroller. Yes, the Opposition was not united, but it worked to her advantage to have the Left contest separately. Congress damaged the TMC only marginally. Bengal thus was a test case for the Opposition, a state every Opposition leader must have watched with trepidation.
Let’s not beat about the bush: Such a massive reversal in electoral fortunes could not have happened without significant “anti-incumbency”, a euphemism for popular unease and unhappiness with the government, that remained under-estimated. People’s anger was not so much against Banerjee herself as against her local leaders and the quality of governance the people received. True, similar and worse levels of governance went unpunished in other states, but the BJP and its loyal media had something to pounce upon. The Opposition must honestly introspect on its own governance record — not just in West Bengal but also in Punjab, Karnataka, Telangana and Himachal — before it draws any plans for national politics.
Finally, let us acknowledge the most unsettling truth of the West Bengal elections. The outcome was not a simple reflection of popular will. The BJP’s victory in the state was curated by the central government and the EC. The BJP was in shambles in Bengal after the setback in 2024 and was in no shape to take on the TMC. The central government and the pro-BJP media propped it up. The Centre choked the West Bengal government of resources, shutting down programmes like MGNREGS and PM Awas Yojna. The ECI watched as the BJP launched a vicious communal campaign, more effective in Bengal than in Assam. Above all, unlike any other state, the EC took extraordinary steps to delete 27 lakh names (of the total 90 lakh deletions) of those who had filled Enumeration Forms and submitted their citizenship documents. Every independent investigation shows these deletions to be wrongful and targeted. These deletions amount to 4.3 per cent of the votes cast in the state. The BJP’s lead over the TMC is 4.6 per cent. The question is inescapable: If these 27 lakh persons were allowed to vote, how would it have affected the outcome?
That is the hard question that the Opposition must face together: Have Indian elections fallen below the minimum acceptable threshold of electoral integrity? How can the Opposition refuse to legitimise curated election results without seeming to run away from the battleground? When and where does the Opposition draw the line, if not now, if not after West Bengal?
The writer is member, Swaraj India, and national convenor, Bharat Jodo Abhiyaan. Views are personal
