| Event Title: | ISAS Panel Discussion (Webinar) |
| Topic: | The State of the Opposition in India |
| Date/Time: | 04 November 2022 | 16:00 - 17:30 |
| Speaker/s: | Dr Ashutosh Kumar, Dr K K Kailash, Dr Mukulika Banerjee, Dr Rahul Verma |
| Chairperson: | Dr Ronojoy Sen |
| Description: | There are many who believe that the current dominance of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has ushered in a one-party dominant system, much like the ‘Congress system’ of the first decades of Indian independence. Political scientist Rajni Kothari, who coined the term the ‘Congress system’, theorised it as a “party of consensus” (the Congress) with “parties of pressure” (opposition) at the margins of the political system. The latter, rather than constituting a real alternative to the ruling party, influenced governance through pressure on like-minded factions within the party of consensus. The BJP system is undeniably very different with an opposition that is external to the party, but, at the same time, fragmented and marginalised. The panel discussion will focus on the state of the opposition in India where the Congress has been in free fall since 2014, the Aam Aadmi Party is harbouring national ambitions, some regional parties are holding their own and eyeing a pan-Indian role and there have been citizen movements such as the farmers’ protests in 2020-21. The panellists will look ahead to the prospects of the opposition in the 2024 general elections and the possibility of an opposition coalition. They will also discuss the upcoming Assembly polls in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh. |