The biggest advantage the BJP has in 2019 is not its performance but the fact that there is no credible alternative to Narendra Modi at the helm.
But, outraged at the treatment meted out to them by the BJP and stung by the saffron party’s string of electoral successes across the nation, all Opposition parties have agreed to come together irrespective of ideological differences for one sole reason: To unseat the BJP from power.
In the unlikely possibility that they do manage to do that, the next question will then be: Who will become the Prime Minister. As of now, these are the names being bandied about:
Mamata Banerjee
Mayawati
Rahul Gandhi
Chandrababu Naidu
KCR
Within the BJP, there are two possibilities being considered as replacement for Modi if the party has to depend on allies’ support:
Nitin Gadkari
Sushma Swaraj
Also, there is an outside possibility of Pranab Mukherjee being asked to take over the saffron party as well and Pranab who has an excellent track record as trouble shooter for the UPA will definitely be an acceptable choice to NDA allies along the lines of Vajpayee, say political analysts.
For Chandrababu, a lot will depend on how his party fares in 2019 whereas KCR does not command any respect at the national level.
All in all, it will boil down to a game of numbers and ideology and people’s welfare will as usual, take a back seat.
As Ram Gopal Varma’s Sarkar movie caption says: There is no right or wrong, only power!
