Outlook English - Print Subscribers Copy Outlook English, 18 June 2018 | Page 33
ALLENGER
no easy task. The Congress has its own compulsions and
may find it hard to accommodate the prime ministerial
ambitions of regional leaders by sacrificing Rahul Gandhi’s.
Many such leaders—Mayawati of the BSP and Mamata
Banerjee of the Trinamool Congress, for instance—are
mercurial and difficult to deal with. At the other extreme is
Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik of the Biju Janata
Dal, reticent and difficult to gauge.
Yet, the very prospect of a combined opposi-
tion taking on Modi has already livened up the
impending contest. The opposition’s arithme-
tic, pitted against the chemistry that Modi enj
oys with the people, promises a closely fought
race. Adding to the thrill is our fascination for
the unknown. We do not know yet who among
the opposition leaders will be Modi’s principal
challenger and the prospective PM candidate.
Possibly, even the opposition has no clue and
Photograph: PTI
the lack of clarity infuses greater excitement.
For all practical purposes, the prospects are pregnant with
possibilities. Modi is unmatched when it comes to stature,
charisma and oratory. But will he manage to pull it off again,
against what many pundits predict? And will a challenger
emerge from the surfeit of opposition leaders, between now
and the elections, to put a face to the opposition
fight and take the battle to the BJP camp?
The imponderables are many and they are
adding to the unpredictability of the elections.
Much has been written about Modi, his sup-
posed invincibility as well as his shortcomings.
In our latest Outlook cover, we turn our gaze
on who among the opposition could be Modi’s
principal opponent. It’s something the nation
wants to know. After all, the fight to become
the challenger promises to be as intriguing and
bruising as the 2019 election. O
The very prospect of
a combined opposition
has livened up the
contest.... Will a
challenger emerge from
the surfeit of leaders?
18 June 2018 OUTLOOK 33