NDA Would Have Won No-Confidence Motion Anyway, But A Less Prepared I.N.D.I.A. Just Made It Easier

Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha & Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge with party leaders Rahul Gandhi, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and others during a protest of opposition MPs at Parliament House complex during Monsoon session, in New Delhi, on August 11, 2023. ( Image Source :PTI )

The much hyped debate in the Lok Sabha on the no-confidence motion brought in by the grand opposition alliance, I.N.D.I.A., was defeated last week. The ruling BJP government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah did much of the padding from the NDA side while Rahul Gandhi and Gaurav Gogoi did the heavy lifting from the I.N.D.I.A. bloc. In the end, the NDA won the debate due to its sheer number in the Lok Sabha, higher time allocation to speakers, good orators on its side and less preparations from I.N.D.I.A. speakers. While the Opposition’s main reason for bringing the motion was to force the PM to speak on the Manipur situation, the debate could not be restricted to one issue. 

In a no-confidence mission brought by the opposition, its leaders mostly attack the government on failures and demand answers from the ruling party. However, because of the sheer strength of the NDA, it was allocated the bulk of the debate time. NDA has 332 MPs in the Lok Sabha. And with the support of YSRCP, TDP, and BJD, this swelled to 366 MPs, accounting for two-third of the House strength.

Hence, NDA speakers were not only able to douse the opposition attack to the best of their ability, but also launched a counter attack. They listed the failures of opposition-led governments in power (in North East, Sikh riots etc.) and challenged it to put to account what they have done in the last 70 years.

The ruling party speakers also listed NDA’s achievements in the last nine years, comparing it with previous 70 years. Finance Minister Nirmala Seetharaman showcased India's remarkable economic transformation, asserting that progress is achieved through actions rather than mere rhetoric. 

Taking a jibe at the UPA government, Sitharaman said: "How did this transformation happen? Words like 'Banega', 'Milega' are done now. What are we using? 'Ban gaya', 'Mil gaya'." 

In contrast, I.N.D.I.A. speakers had less time and hence they focused only on attacking the NDA and listing its failures. In a way, NDA got a free field in its counter-attacks and self-parise. 

For the audience, the ruling party's content was much sharper, covering a wide range of issues compared to the opposition. Its speakers appeared better prepared. In the end, the motion proved to be a tactically wrong call given the I.N.D.I.A. strength in the Lower House.

Rahul Failed To Impress, Amit Shah Scored High

While Gaurav Gogoi stood out among the opposition’s list of speakers with his impassioned and well researched speech, INDIA supporters would have been a tad disappointed with Rahul’s speech. 

Rahul focussed a lot of his learnings from Bharat Jodo Yatra — an event that started in September last year and ended in January. Except for a short period of emotional outburst, when he used some serious words against the BJP, which were later expunged, the rest of the speech failed to impress much. Even his speech on Manipur, though sharp, was not comprehensive. He didn’t speak on the burning issues of unemployment, inflation, farm distress, and did not even present the vision of I.N.D.I.A., wasting a good opportunity. Rahul came less prepared, and showed he needs to work hard on his speeches in Parliament. 

Leave alone Modi, even Amit Shah tackled Rahul’s points well. He came well prepared on the Manipur issue. In Modi 2.O, what has been a remarkable transformation has been improvement in the oratory skills of Amit Shah. Right from the Article 370 debate, his speeches have been impressive and well prepared. He has improved his Hindi significantly, and seems to be practising hard on delivery and getting the pronunciations right. 

PM Modi attacked the opposition alliance in his closing speech: “This is not an India alliance, it is an arrogant alliance. Everyone has to become the Prime Minister in this alliance.” He said the opposition added two "I"s to NDA due to its "arrogance" — "the first 'I' is the arrogance of 26 parties that came together and the second 'I' is the arrogance of one family". He hoped peace would prevail in Manipur soon. 

As expected, the no-confidence motion was defeated. The opposition staged a walkout in the middle of Modi’s speech. It even squandered the opportunity to reply to the PM's speech, as Gaurav Gogoi, the leader who had moved the motion, was absent. 

The opposition is clearly missing good orators in the Lok Sabha who can speak in chaste Hindi and communicate clearly their message to the public. 

The author is a political commentator and SEBI-registered investment advisor.

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