Needed: A little humility

The opposition parties must prioritise defeating the Modi government above catering to their individual partisan interests

There’s a question I’m repeatedly asked these days and I imagine the intensity with which it’s put will only increase as the national election approaches: Can the combined Opposition parties ensure the Modi government is not re-elected? The short answer is yes but it critically depends on certain conditions they must accept. The real issue is, will they?

The first condition — and I’m deliberately using that term rather than any other — is they must view 2019 as 29 state elections rather than one national election. In other words, the Opposition party that gets to play the primary role