UNPA setting agenda
 

With the main opposition alliance, NDA having failed in setting the agenda for campaigning against the UPA policies, it has been left to the UNPA to take the initiative. The five former chief ministers have much at stake and are therefore a little disappointed at their inability to bring the Left on to their platform. Nevertheless, the UNPA has drawn a strategy and is clearly gearing for the mid term poll.

by Kushal Jeena

With the possibility of an early Lok Sabha polls gaining ground, the United National Progressive Alliance on Saturday moved into

election mode setting agriculture, plight of farmers and national security as its poll planks.

The frustration over not being able to bring the Left parties on board, the top leaders of the UNPA who met here this after noon to formulate electoral strategy, was evident as a key UNPA member Om Prakash Chautala accused the Communists of not having an understanding of the ground situation and indulging in drawing room politics.

With the NDA failing to build up a powerful campaign against the UPA government over the issues of suicides by farmers, sharp downfall in the agricultural products and increasing terror attacks, the UNPA, which has of late been making futile attempts of projecting the combine as a formidable alternative to the UPA and NDA, has made yet another attempt to rope in rural audiences by highlighting their plight.

Moving ahead with its farmer plank, the UNPA will in mid December organize a seminar on the agriculture situation in the country and the deteriorating situation of farmers. Subsequently, the third alliance would also hold two separate kisan rallies in January in Jaipur and Ranchi to further its newly found electoral agenda. It seems in a hurry to build a plank over farmer issue.

The entire focus of today’s impressive rally and meeting was on issues relating to farmers. However, the UNPA successfully added a feather in its cap when National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah joined their band wagon, highlighting Kashmir, terror and utterances of Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen against Islam.

Abdullah landed into a controversy when he said Taslima should apologies to the Muslim of India. “If she wants to continue her stay in India, she should stop playing with religion,” Abdullah said. On this remark he was grilled by journalists in the pre-rally and post- meeting press conference.

It is unlikely that the entry of former BJP chief minister Babu Lal Marandi and Farooq would add to the political advantage of five former chief ministers as both the leaders have few stakes at national level. Marandi who is out of the BJP has virtually lost his following in his home state Jharkhand and Abdullah though talks about national politics could only again become chief minister of strife-torn state of Jammu and Kashmir when his party’s arch rival People’s Democratic Party is wiped out from the political arena of the state.

In fact, Abdullah’s induction was aimed at giving credence to UNPA’s plan on terror, which the six party coalition says the government has completely failed to control. “Terror attacks have become frequent, deteriorating the national security situation. The UPA government has not been able to deliver good in any respect,” said Chandra Babu Naidu, the convener of the alliance. The UNPA leaders are going to visit Lucknow, Varanasi and Faizabad on Sunday to demonstrate the seriousness of their anti-terror agenda.

Naidu in fact is the only face of the UNPA. He has been made convener of the alliance as all others are not acceptable to the remaining regional and smaller parties, which the UNPA claims to bring into its folds shortly. The UNPA has also made it clear that the issues relating to farmers and agricultural would be handled and the response and strategy of the alliance would be formulated by Naidu.