If it fares well in the ongoing Assembly elections, the party plans to enhance its efforts to consolidate the alliance in order to blunt Opposition unity.
A shrinking National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has become a matter of concern for the ruling BJP and the party leadership is likely to start working to stitch alliances at the regional level in order to blunt the Opposition unity, after the ongoing Assembly elections, in the run up to 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
What is worrying for the party is the fact that while many NDA partners have deserted the alliance ever since it formed government at the Centre in 2014, some more are either on the verge of leaving it or are having strained relations with it. Among the allies, Shiv Sena has the highest number of MPs (18) in the Lok Sabha after BJP, followed by Lok Janshakti Party (6). Sources said much will depend on the outcome of the ongoing Assembly elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram. “If BJP does not perform well, there could be trouble in the alliance and some more parties may desert it. However, we feel that if the party fares well and comes back to power in some of the states, there should be enhanced efforts to consolidate the alliance further in order to take on the Opposition unity,” said a BJP leader.
“We have seen how JDS joined hands with Congress to form government in Karnataka. After leaving NDA, Telugu Desham Party (TDP) has joined hands with Congress for Telangana Assembly elections. This week, there was an effort by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), National Conference and Congress to form government in Jammu and Kashmir,” he pointed out.
“Even a little laxity can work against our prospects. Hence, we should not take any chance and make every effort to ensure that we have well-knit alliances at the regional level,” he added.
Sources said that there is also concern within the leadership that despite best efforts, the BJP has not been able to find any alliance partner in Tamil Nadu, whereas the Congress has a working alliance with DMK in place. “We also have to keep in mind that we are going to take on regional satraps in West Bengal, Odisha and Telangana, all alone, which would not be an easy task,” they said.
Haryana Janhit Congress was the first party to leave the alliance, soon after the Lok Sabha elections in 2014. TDP joined the NDA just before the last Lok Sabha elections but left it early this year. The PDP, on the other hand, joined hands with BJP to form government in J&K but the alliance broke this year.
Other parties which left the alliance include Swabhimani Paksha (Maharashtra), Hindustani Awam Morcha (Bihar), Naga People’s Front (Nagaland), while Mizo National Front (Mizoram) is also maintaining a distance from it. Janata Dal United (JDU) is the only major party joining NDA after the last Lok Sabha elections.
BJP presently has a strained relationship with Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) in Bihar and Shiv Sena in Maharashtra. The RLSP, with three MPs in Lok Sabha, is all set to quit the alliance. However, sources said, Shiv Sena may not desert the NDA despite having a troubled relationship. The BJP also has a strained relationship with Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party in UP, which has three MLAs in the state Assembly. At present, there are 14 parties in the NDA in Parliament, with 310 members in Lok Sabha and 89 in Rajya Sabha. However, there are 31 more parties in the alliance across the country. These parties do not have members in Parliament and are together ruling the states. The NDA is ruling in as many as 19 states.