It is that time of the year again — when the Narendra Modi government’s claims of stupendous governance are met by voices from the Opposition that attempt to paint the opposite picture. This year — the 11th anniversary of Mr Modi’s uninterrupted rule — has not been an exception in terms of such predictable theatrics. The president of the Bharatiya Janata Party, J.P. Nadda, marked the occasion on Monday by listing a set of Mr Modi’s achievements that are, in his words, “unimaginable” and “unprecedented”. The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, the abolition of instant triple talaq, the abrogation of Article 370, the Waqf legislation — even demonetisation — made it to Mr Nadda’s list of the prime minister’s bold decisions. The Opposition came out with its own interpretation of the reality. The Congress’s booklet, to cite one example, was critical of the government’s failures on such fronts as the economy, security, agriculture as well as hunger eradication, public health and hygiene.

The list of failures cited by India’s Opposition is long. What the Opposition needs to mull, though, is its failure to attain electoral purchase in terms of these festering crises. It is true that the Opposition, led by the Congress, had managed to bring down the BJP’s electoral tally below the majority mark in the last general election: its sharp focus on issues that pinch the people and their pockets yielded dividends. But the Opposition — is INDIA even a cohesive unit? — has certainly lost its way since then. Its performance in Parliament in terms of cornering the Centre on prickly issues — the economy being the proverbial, permanent elephant in the room — has left a lot to be desired. Worryingly, the Opposition’s time seems to be taken up by issues other than those that could help mobilise public opinion in its favour. This gap between the Opposition’s priorities and matters that resonate with the people could prove to be costly electorally for the BJP’s opponents. Worryingly, the Opposition has also failed to stick together as a united entity, with INDIA being this strange, nebulous creature that gets resurrected on occasion, only to be put to slumber thereafter. The resultant public perception of the Opposition being a constituency in disarray is getting cemented. Little wonder then that Mr Modi’s dispensation ends up winning nearly every war on optics.