Where Are the BJP's Allies?

NEW DELHI: In the one year celebrations of the National Democratic Alliance, the allies who have helped the Bharatiya Janata party form coalition governments in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and of course the centre are nowhere in sight. The anniversary has been all about the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the allies reportedly sulking, out of sight.

Union Food Minister and Lok Janshakti Party leader Ram Vilas Paswan emerged on the eve of the one year celebrations to strike a note of caution maintaining that the controversies on communal issues did not send out the right signal. He said, however, that considerable development work had been carried out, but this signal had not reached the people. Paswan had left the alliance with the Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal in Bihar to join the BJP and enter the Council of Ministers at the centre. Sources said he is not particularly happy about the overtures being made by the BJP to Pappu Yadav and former Bihar chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi. BJP President Amit Shah recently said that doors were open for talks with everyone.

There has been no sign of allies Akali Dal in Punjab, Shiv Sena in Maharashtra, and Telugu Desam in Andhra Pradesh in these anniversary celebrations of the NDA. Relations between the BJP and Shiv Sena have often been strained, with the Akali Dal too not on the same wavelength with the larger party currently. The ruling Badal family that has reportedly lost popularity in Punjab is causing levels of anxiety to the BJP, with the state unit keen to go it alone in the Assembly elections.

Significantly the Aam Aadmi Party is drawing good crowds in Punjab with reports from the state suggesting that it would be factor in the polls. To keep the counter alive AAP organised a demonstration against the BJP on its one year anniversary with placards and slogans centering around "RIP Acche Din" and "Acche Dino ki Punya Tithi".

The BJP mindset has not settled to accepting the smaller regional parties, that are part of the NDA government at the centre. Tensions at the state level continue, with Shah speaking often of a one party rule with full majority at the centre. Under pressure from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh to move ahead with the polarising agenda of Article 370, construction of the Ram Mandir at Ayodhya, and the uniform civil code, the BJP is finding it difficult to move on this front because of the allies, other than the Shiv Sena perhaps, who are not on the same page. Shah said as much at a press conference observing the one year anniversary where he said, “We have not got enough mandate to address core issues. We need 370 seats, according to the Constitution, to address these.” Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said as much earlier this month, maintaining that the government needed a majority to fulfil this agenda.

This constant refrain has made the allies, who are kept on the periphery of decision making according to sources, uneasy and worried about the alliance with the BJP in the states. Other smaller allies like Apna Dal with two Members of Parliament in Uttar Pradesh and RLSP led by Upendra Kushwaha in Bihar are not visible at all. Despite its visible unease with coalition politics there is a realisation in the BJP that it needs to stitch up alliances to win the votes. It is currently looking at Kushwaha, Paswan, Manjhi, Pappu Yadav as the possible alliance to displace the Janata Dal(U) in Bihar in the forthcoming Assembly elections. Sources said that Lalu Prasad Yadav had been approached by intermediaries in a bid to break the Janata parivar alliance, although currently Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is working hard to ensure that this does not happen. Sources said that he was willing to offer 100 seats to the RJD, far above the numbers it had won in the last polls.