Importance of opposition in democracy

Viable opposition is a very important topic in political science. The word 'viable' actually is the key factor that determines the quality of opposition. It reflects many things like number, performance, credibility and many other characteristics of the opposition.

In democracy, a viable opposition holds the key to the performance of the party in power. In absence of a viable opposition, there is always a possibility that democracy may turn into an autocratic form of governance.

In democracy, number is always an important factor, not absolute though, to determine the strength of a viable opposition. In case oppositions are totally routed, as happened in the last assembly election in Delhi, there will hardly be any check over the functioning of the ruling party and thus an autocratic government shall be in force under the cover of democracy.

Though number is important in democracy but it is not supreme. The stature of the leaders in opposition is equally important to turn opposition into a viable one. The performance of Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee against then Prime Minister Nehru, as the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha with only 2 MPs, has already become myth. Whereas, if we look at today's scenario, in Maharashtra or J&K, though oppositions have substantial number yet they are not upto the mark in discharging their duties as they do not have leaders of required stature in compare with that of ruling parties.

The third and probably the most important factor to determine a viable opposition lies in the credibility of leaders in opposition. The credibility also plays a pivotal role to determine the stature. In absence of any credible leadership, opposition is bound to succumb under the pressure of government. In such cases, people are, hardly, left with any choice to express their dissent against the ruling party. The case of West Bengal is the best illustration of such scenario.

So, mere opposition is not capable to discharge it duties unless it is a viable one. An incapable opposition, more often than not, becomes a toy in the hand of government to camouflage it's unethical acts. Selection of CVC & CIC are the glaring instances of such practices.