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India
This Week in AsiaPolitics

Is India’s opposition ‘in disarray’ to challenge Narendra Modi’s BJP in election?

  • The opposition alliance is holding a rally to send a message of unity following the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal
  • After months of internal strife, the alliance has yet to agree on a leader to steer the challenge against the BJP at the election

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Opposition lawmakers demanding a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the violence in Manipur state outside the Parliament building in New Delhi, on July 24, 2023. Photo: AP
Vasudevan Sridharan
The recent arrest of a key opposition leader in India may have galvanised the rivals of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of next month’s elections, but their coalition is disunited and is in no position to pose a strong challenge against the dominant Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), according to political analysts.
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On Sunday, the anti-Modi bloc will hold its first national-level rally in New Delhi in what is seen as a litmus test and a crucial opportunity to cement the alliance of opposition parties.

The planned rally was triggered by the March 21 arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and leader of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), in connection with a money-laundering probe linked to alleged irregularities in the excise policy on alcohol sales.

Kejriwal has denied the charges, while the opposition is arguing that the arrest was a move by Modi to weaponise the law against his political rivals.

“The way the prime minister of the country has been acting like a dictator and suppressing democracy to arrest Kejriwal, all the people in the country who love democracy are angry,” said Gopal Rai, a senior minister in Kejriwal’s government and a member of the AAP, at a press conference last Sunday announcing the public rally.

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“And it’s not just about Kejriwal but the way the whole opposition is being targeted one after another with the help of [federal law enforcement] agencies,” Rai added.

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