Every single Opposition party has the elections to the 18th Lok Sabha in 2024 in its mind and talks of unity of purpose and agenda with one another but none has given a coherent platform for all of them to come together as a working coalition. Save Tamil Nadu chief minister and DMK president M.K. Stalin who offers one now when he says that the prime concern of the moment is not who should win but who should not.

From the looks of it, it’s a negative campaign placed against the development agenda that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and its leader Narendra Modi would put before the people. Added to this handicap is the fact that neither the BJP nor Mr Modi has ever displayed unwillingness to flash the communal, or the nationalistic, card to win elections.

An Opposition win will happen only if it can meet its necessary and sufficient conditions. That “who should not win” clause does not offer sufficient condition for an Opposition win; it has to invent that and prove to the people that its members are up to the task once given a chance. However, it does offer the necessary condition; an adhesive that can keep the flock together.

Mr Stalin has proved to be a formidably ally of the Congress as he has insisted that his partner in Tamil Nadu must be at the centre of an Opposition alternative; he has not wavered a bit despite offers by Opposition parties uncomfortable with the grand old party. Mr Stalin has also proved that he can bring together parties across the Opposition spectrum, from the Samajwadi Party to the Congress and the Left. With 40 Lok Sabha seats under his belt, he is a force no alliance can do without if it is serious about its job. And with the latest prescription, the Tamil Nadu CM has kickstarted “project 202”. It’s for the Opposition to decide who will join the mission.