Karnataka 2018 vs 2023: How 'opposition unity' portrait has changed, 5 years apart

NEW DELHI: It was the same state, the same month and the same occasion. Nearly 5 years ago, a galaxy of opposition leaders coalesced in Karnataka for the oath ceremony of HD Kumaraswamy who became the chief minister following a post-poll alliance between Congress and JD(S).

Cut to 2023, a similar show of opposition strength was on full display yet again at the oath ceremony of Siddaramaiah following Congress's emphatic victory in the May 10 Karnataka elections.

On Saturday, the who's who of opposition parties came together on a single stage to send out a strong message to the BJP.

With elections in Karnataka taking place exactly a year before the Lok Sabha polls, the state has become an ideal platform for opposition leaders to display their bonhomie and celebrate a non-BJP party's victory with great gusto. This was clear in both 2018 and in 2023.



And like in 2018, some opposition leaders (Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, etc) have already gone into a huddle to chart out a common minimum programme under which a united anti-BJP front can take form.

Last time, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and her Telangana counterpart K Chandrasekhar Rao were trying to forge a similar third front for the general election. However, the efforts failed to take shape and the contest ended up being the "PM Modi vs the rest" battle. The BJP eventually stormed to power with an even bigger mandate in 2019 compared to 2014.

Now, it remains to be seen whether the opposition efforts fructify into something more concrete this time around.


If the Karnataka oath ceremonies are any indicator, one can already see stark differences between Saturday's event and the one that took place in 2018.

Leaders like Mamata Banerjee, Mayawati, Akhilesh Yadav and Arvind Kejriwal, who were present at the oath ceremony of HD Kumaraswamy in 2018, were conspicious by their absence in 2023.

While an invitation wasn't sent out to Akhilesh, Mayawati and Kejriwal, Mamata and Uddhav Thackeray could not attend the ceremony due to undisclosed reasons.

"Banerjee skipping the event has come as some kind of a dampener, especially after her recent statement that in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, her party will support the Congress where it is strong," a Congress leader told PTI at the ceremony.

The absence of prominent opposition faces from the ceremony have raised questions about the possibility of an anti-BJP front forming in time for the 2024 elections.

Nitish Kumar indicated that a meeting of opposition parties will take place soon, mostly likely in Bihar since Mamata had suggested the same.

However, there are already doubts over who will attend the said meeting and whether the Congress will be a part of the table.

With another state in its kitty, the Congress will now have a bargaining chip when it comes to being a part of a larger opposition front.

Moreover, as AAP slowly emerges as a direct challenger to Congress in many states, it appears that the two parties may not like each other's company on a single stage.