India's Rainbow Opposition Reacts to Rahul Gandhi’s 2019 PM Candidature

The electoral victory in three big states by the principal opposition party, the Indian National Congress, in the recently held elections has buoyed up the opposition which, up to now, were finding themselves thrown into oblivion by the towering stature of current Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

New Delhi (Sputnik) — M.K. Stalin, leader of the DMK party from the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, has proposed the name of Indian National Congress Party chief Rahul Gandhi as the next prime ministerial candidate from the opposition camp. The other opposition parties, though united by the same agenda of ousting PM Narendra Modi in the upcoming 2019 general elections, reacted to this with a "no-thanks" gesture. 

— M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) December 16, 2018

The opposition parties, regional and national, are a largely dis-jointed lot at present. But with the towering image of the current Prime Minister Narendra Modi to contend with in the next elections due to be held in 2019, they are being forced to iron out their differences and come together to show a united front against the current regime. Stalin's party constitute one of the regional parties that are part of this ‘united' opposition.

— Arvind Gunasekar (@arvindgunasekar) December 17, 2018

According to sources, the other opposition parties have voiced their objection to Stalin's proposition, saying that projection of prime ministerial candidate right now is premature. The objecting parties include the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) from southern India, National Conference and Samajwadi Party from northern India, and Trinamool Congress and Rashtriya Janata Dal from eastern India.

The rainbow opposition is of the opinion that the prime ministerial candidate nomination should be best left to the time when 2019 elections are done and over with. According to the Samajwadi Party, the issue of who would be the prime ministerial candidate is still wide open and that it would not be appropriate to project Rahul Gandhi as "the one" forthrightly.

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The Indian National Congress is trying to tread this ground very cautiously, seeking to keep itself aloof from all such propositions and nominations. The party thinks that any forceful imposition of its leader as the prime ministerial candidate may result in a fracture in the opposition unity. Rahul Gandhi has said that although he would like to be the country's prime minister, the party is also open to having any other figure from the opposition to lead the country.

On the other hand, the ruling BJP is viewing Stalin's proposition with ridicule. "Congress itself has doubts about announcing Rahul Gandhi as the next PM", said Ganesan a senior party leader. 

— Kumar Sarangapani (@KumarSarangapa1) December 17, 2018