The Opposition in the Lok Sabha would appear thrilled that the admission of the first “no-confidence” motion against the Modi government attracted bold headlines in Thursday’s newspapers. Yet should the word “defeated” be added to the headline in Saturday’s papers, or the TV/ radio newscasts the previous evening, the parties seeking to truncate the term of NDA-II would cut a rather sorry figure.

Simply because failure to forge itself into a united, credible force would diminish Opposition prospects for 2019. True that during Friday’s televised proceedings, the Opposition will have opportunity to flay the government on several issues that do raise serious concern.

But there are few signs of its having done adequate preparation to cause the numbers-game to run close enough to rattle the Modi government. That would only encourage those currently in authority to further flex their muscle. By most calculations, the numbers stack up in the government’s favour, and it appears confident that the “neutrals” would not tilt the UPA way.

Sonia Gandhi might have put on a brave front when asking “who said we don’t have the numbers”; she would hit a real low if such bravado does not get converted into reality and reduce herself to the hollow bombast that is the hallmark of hersuccessor as Congress president.

It would be a classic case of political and parliamentary myopia to perceive the no-confidence motion ~ incidentally, the last one was defeated by the Atal Behari Vajpayee government ~ as an end in itself. The nation has slowly slipped into poll mode and the Opposition has to do a lot to prove it has the capacity to displace the NDA at Raisina Hill.

The celebrated “photo-op” on the stairs leading to Bengaluru’s Vidhana Soudha has not been enlarged ~ in fact Rahul Gandhi has been exposed as unable to ensure his party MLAs do not create trouble for the alliance he had personally advocated. The virtual rejection of a major role for the Congress by the SP-BSP combine in UP is another pointer to Rahul coming up short in providing quality leadership.

Navin Patnaik insists on doing his own thing, and Mamata Banerjee will not bow easily to bow to any “coalition dharma”. Even her bid to bring Arvind Kejriwal into the Opposition fold has been stymied.

The tactical incompetence of the Congress was exposed in the Lok Sabha when it tried to question the Speaker’s asking the TDP to move the no-trust motion.

Contrast that with the NDA switching its game plan of the budget session, raising no objections to the admission of the motion, and its confidence that should a Division be taken (the Opposition could walk out if it sensed defeat) it would be the NDA on the winning side. And why speculate as far ahead as 2019 ~ an Opposition loss could also impact the election of the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.