New Delhi: Despite the resignation of senior Congress leader Gulam Nabi Azad has led to a vacuum in the opposition front, the left parties are confident that they will be able to form a united opposition to fight the BJP ahead of the 2024 general election.
Hours after senior Congress leader Gulam Nabi Azad tendered his resignation from all posts of the Congress, former MP and CPI(M) politburo member Hannan Mollah on Friday said that Left parties will support "anybody leading a united opposition."
He, however, admitted that Azad's resignation is a jolt not only for Congress but for all other opposition parties. "It was bound to happen. Congress has been fighting with a leadership crisis for a long time. Many of its senior leaders had raised this issue but it was sidelined by the Congress leadership," said Mollah.
Azad was one of the members of G-23 of the grand old party who signed a letter demanding for an organisational change in the party. "It's also a fact that Azad has been praising the ruling BJP indirectly on many occasions. Maybe like other leaders who joined BJP, similar feelers might have been received by Azad," said Mollah.
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The resignation of Azad, who had a four-decade-long stint with the Congress, has come at a time when the Congress has been planning for a nationwide movement against the BJP on several issues like price rise, inflation, farmers issue, early next month. Mollah expressed confidence that Azad's resignation can't stop the opposition parties to come together and give a united fight against the BJP.
"It's very much necessary to give a befitting reply to BJP and its ideologies ahead of the 2024 election," said Mollah. When asked whether Left will lead the united opposition against the BJP, Mollah said that the Left is not in a position to lead the opposition. "However, we will extend our support to the united front and the party whoever lead the position front," said Mollah.
On previous two general elections, most of the opposition parties came together to fight BJP. However, due to absence of consensus on "many issues", such oppositions failed to make any impact. Whether it's Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) or Chandrababu Naidu-led Telegu Desam Party (TDP), whoever wants to make a big impact by forming a united opposition, such opposition is still a distant dream.
