At the end of July when Nitish Kumar had decided to sever ties with the “Mahagathbandhan” and join the BJP, it was speculated that the opposition or what was left of it might get more united than before in order to somehow try and defeat the BJP.
In order to possibly portray that unity, RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav had organised a “Desh Bachao, Bhajpa Bhagao” rally in Patna on 27th August. It soon was dampened before it began after it was reported that Sonia Gandhi and Mayawati had decided to skip the rally and instead send party leaders as their representatives. It was also later revealed that Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi too was going to skip the rally because of his trip to Norway.
Even though other opposition leaders like Akhilesh Yadav, Mamata Banerjee attended the rally it itself was a solemn affair with alleged low attendance which reportedly led Lalu to tweet an allegedly morphed photo showing packed crowds to somehow try and portray the rally as success.
The opposition now has again been dealt another blow in the form of the CPM, after its General Secretary Sitaram Yechury ruled out any possibility of his party being part of the “Mahagathbandhan” of the opposition parties during the 2019 General elections. He decided to justify this decision by claiming that their party’s political-tactical line didn’t allow them to join hands for polls and as a result they also skipped Lalu’s rally on 27th August. This reason given is a bit odd as in the past as the Left Front in West Bengal led by the CPM had recently been involved in an alliance with the Congress.
Other reports quoted Yechury as saying that they won’t form any electoral alliance involving the Congress but would continue to attend meetings which are aimed at “saving the composite culture of India”.
