Fourteen regional parties representing 100 Lok Sabha MPs participated in a convention against communalism which targeted the BJP and Mr. Narendra Modi. Although the participating leaders denied it, clearly the exercise was a trial balloon to judge the feasibility of forming a new front.

The idea to forge a new front before the election is sound. The Congress is floundering and the field is left open for the BJP to exploit. There is space and need for another claimant. Because the convention was hosted by the Left Front the Trinamul Congress did not attend. Miss Mamata Banerjee earlier had already mooted the idea of forming a Federal Front. Nor did the BSP, the DMK or the RJD attend. Miss Mayawati’s presence was incompatible with Mr. Mulayam Singh who was a prominent invitee. Miss Jayalalithaa did not attend but sent a party leader to represent the ADMK. If the Left Front and the SP were replaced by Trinamul and BSP the strength of the group would remain about the same. Therefore whether it is the Left Front or the Trinamul which initiates a new front the potential for a new alternative remains relevant.

The first reactions by the regional parties are very flawed if they intend to mount a credible electoral challenge in 2014. Most leaders were at pains to stress that they would form an alliance only after the poll and not before it. This was the first huge mistake. The public is sick of unstable coalitions haggling after forging opportunistic alliances. To create a credible alternative a pre-poll arrangement is imperative.

The second serious shortcoming of the regional parties is their failure to think beyond a Front and plan a stable Federation which contests parliamentary elections under one symbol while allowing the regional parties to retain their respective identities and symbols at the state level. It has been pointed out before in these columns that this can be accomplished by giving full clout to the regional parties at the center without in any way compromising or weakening their authority at the state level. A common symbol for parliament would preclude defection and mutual blackmail threats to present an image of stability and coherence that the Indian public desperately seeks. An acceptable poll agenda and a constitution for the planned Federation that protects the interests of the regional parties are feasible and achievable.

Apart from the above mentioned shortcomings the basic approach of the regional parties betrays flawed strategy. These parties perceive Mr. Narendra Modi and the BJP as their main challenge. This perception is right. But the strategy that follows from this is horribly wrong. They are targeting the BJP. This gives them the appearance of being a B-team of the Congress which is also targeting the BJP. But the main strength of the BJP currently arises from the very strong anti-incumbency mood across the nation. Therefore the winning strategy for the regional parties would be to mount an attack against the Congress that is much fiercer than the one mounted by the BJP. This should be easy given the inexplicable failure of BJP leaders, including Mr. Modi, to launch a vitriolic attack against the many cases of individual corruption by Congress leaders. The generalized criticism of corruption by the BJP leaders appears to be little more than a cosmetic gimmick.

Mr. Modi has given a call to liberate the nation from Congress rule. All that he means is that Mrs. Sonia Gandhi should be defeated at the next election. That is no liberation from the Congress. The regional parties should delve into history and demand that the Congress be dissolved and buried as Mahatma Gandhi had wanted because it has outlived its utility and role in history. That will help to undo the spirit of the Partition. Unless that is done India’s future remains bleak.

Respectfully and armed with irrefutable facts they must demolish myths woven around Congress icons of the past to demonstrate that they were human with many errors to their credit, and at time less than human as in 1984!

If the regional parties could summon the guts to do this one predicts that they would make the BJP appear as the B-team of the Congress and win the election of 2014. The party which exploits to the maximum extent the strong anti-Congress mood across the nation will have the best chance to win in 2014.