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'With vendetta politics as its main plank, the BJP will be looking out for every opportunity to destabilise this Mahagatbandhan government.'
"It will be a no-holds-barred battle for the BJP," Dipankar Bhattacharya, general secretary, Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation, which has 12 MLAs in the Bihar assembly and supports the Mahagathbandan government from outside, tells Prasanna D Zore/Rediff.com in the final part of the interview.
Could the Bihar Experiment -- as you call it -- impact Narendra Modi's bid for the prime ministership for the third time?
Surely. We need a comprehensive resistance against the BJP in 2024.
Right now it is happening at various levels. Those have been victimised by the BJP's politics of hate, people who are in jail have become icons of resistance.
Stan Swamy, who died in jail because the Modi government wouldn't let him get bail, died a martyr for the cause of social justice and democracy.
Umar Khalid, who celebrated his second birthday (on August 11) in jail, Anand Teltumbde, who spent his third birthday (on July 15) in jail have now become icons of resistance.
The farmers' agitation against the repeal of the three black farm laws was the most powerful resistance to the anti-people policies of Modi government.
This movement will resume because they have defrauded the farmers by announcing a fake committee on the issue of MSP (minimum support price for farm produce). The farmers' unions will soon regroup and launch a fresh agitation for their rights.
But the farmers' movement didn't have a major impact on the BJP's prospects in the UP election where Yogi Adityanath returned to power despite a united Opposition.
It did have a substantial impact, but not enough to topple the BJP applecart (in UP).
Lakhimpur Kheri was an exception, but look at the farmers' belt in Muzaffarnagar, Baghpat and Shamli where those (allegedly) involved in the communal riots of 2014 lost this time.
The main thrust of my argument is all these movements emanating from various sections of the Indian people are throwing up possibilities.
These movements are producing more energy, throwing up agendas. It is now the job of the Opposition parties to galvanise, get its act together and it will reflect in a concerted bid (to defeat the BJP) in 2024.
If we (the Opposition against the BJP) combine our might and fight against the BJP with tenacity, determination than the battle for 2024 is on. India is on its way to find an answer to Narendra Modi.
The Opposition charges the BJP with gaining power in Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Goa, and Maharashtra by hook or by crook. Given this fear, how stable will the Chacha-Bhatija government be in the next three years?
This government has enough numbers unlike wafer-thin majorities in many of these states where the BJP played mischief. The Maha Vikas Aghadi government may not have had a wafer-thin majority, but the BJP managed to split the Shiv Sena using devious means.
That begs the question about what guarantee can one give that the JD U-RJD government will last till 2025?
With vendetta politics as its main plank, the BJP will be looking out for every opportunity to destabilise this Mahagatbandhan government. It will be a no-holds-barred battle for the BJP.
The difference between what the BJP did to the Shiv Sena and what it could do to the JD-U and RJD in Bihar is that the Shiv Sena shared BJP's ideology (of Hindutva).
Given the ideological leanings of the Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP (Nationalist Congress Party), the MVA experiment in Maharashtra was somewhat extraordinary. The BJP found it easy (to split the Shiv Sena) given the ideological affinity it shared with the Shiv Sena and indulge in horse-trading.
Given Nitish Kumar's and the JD-U's Janata Dal roots -- of which the RJD today represents the mainstream -- and his tenacity, his experience to keep his party together despite sharing power equations with BJP, I think the Bihar Experiment can lead to a rejuvenation of the Janata Dal.
This coming together (the JD-U-RJD) is more natural politically than the Nitish Kumar-BJP alliance.
While Nitish Kumar may have taken the oath of office for the eighth time in his political career, isn't he a failed politician in so far as his ability to expand the JD-U's reach electorally?
When Nitish Kumar parted ways with Lalu Prasad Yadav in the 1990s, the CPI (ML) Liberation and Nitish Kumar's Samata Party had six MLAs each. But from there he joined hands with the BJP and became the chief minister.
I don't think you can call him a failed politician electorally. But he failed to deliver in terms of governance and development he had promised to the people of Bihar in association with BJP.
It is true that he did arouse hope in 2005 when he first became the chief minister by instituting land reform commission, education reform commission but didn't left those tasks incomplete owing to his alliance with BJP.
Nitish Kumar has a chance to redeem himself in 2022 by fulfilling the promises he had made when he first became Bihar's CM.
What role will the Left parties, especially the CPI (ML) Liberation having 12 MLAs, play in deciding the social, political and economic agenda of the Mahagatbandhan government?
We have categorically stated that we don't want to join this government in administration. We would be playing the role of a bridge between the government and civil society, aspirations of the people and ongoing people's movements.
We will bring inputs to the government (from the grassroots) and help in shaping pro-people policies. Hence, we have emphasised that this government should soon announce a common minimum programme and institute a mechanism for consultation, coordination and monitoring the implementation of promises made by this government.
On the political front, we will bring all the forces opposed to the BJP together because the RSS and BJP are still a formidable force in Bihar's politics and society.
The BJP needs to be resisted fairly and squarely on every front and that's where we see a big role for the CPI (ML) Liberation.
The government will do its job and we will continue to strengthen our resistance against the BJP's ideology of spreading hatred, divisiveness and violence.