BJP looks to bring old allies on board for 25 years of NDA

The BJP won 282 seats on its own in 2014, and the NDA together, 336; in 2019, the BJP won 303 and the NDA 352

New Delhi: It’s an anniversary that came and went almost unnoticed. In early 1998, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) was formed. And it came to power in March that year, after the general elections.

The SAD walked out of the NDA in 2020 in protest against the proposed farm laws which were subsequently retracted by the Modi government (PTI)

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Now, 25 years later, there appears to be an effort to bring back some of the original constituents of the alliance – not out of sentimentalism, but the cold calculus of electoral logic. Which would also mean that the opposition parties aren’t the only ones working on a grouping. HT has learnt that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the core and leader of the NDA, has been talking to the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), both constituents of the original alliance that have since exited it.

The TDP left the NDA in 2018 and the SAD exited the grouping in 2020. The SAD, in fact, was one of the earliest allies of the BJP – from 1996. HT learns that at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s request, talks are being conducted by Union home minister Amit Shah along with party president JP Nadda and organisation head BL Santhosh. HT also learns that the BJP has reached out or plans to reach out to other constituents of the original NDA.

Last weekend TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu met Shah, although neither side issued a statement on what transpired.

But a BJP office-bearer confirmed that the party is in talks with potential allies, although this person added that “it is too early” to say anything . The discussions began earlier in the year, ahead of the 25th anniversary, stalled during the Karnataka elections, but have picked up pace since, said the person quoted above. A joint event to mark the anniversary belatedly may happen, the BJP office bearer added.

To be sure, that will require the presence of at least a handful of parties, some of whom are now markedly in opposition to the BJP. The 1998 NDA had, among others, the Shiv Sena, the Bjiu Janata Dal, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, the Samata Party that merged to create the Janata Dal (United), the Haryana Vikas Party that merged with the Congress, the TDP, the Akalis, and even the Trinamool Congress.

All told, there were 20 constituents in the NDA then, including the BJP. Today, though NDA still has 16constituents, only two major parties from that day remain -- the AIADMK and the Shiv Sena (minus the Uddhav Thackeray faction).

If the BJP manages to convince some of its erstwhile partners to return, the leader said, it could announce a proper revival of the NDA – perhaps on the death anniversary of Vajpayee on August 16, or in October, closer to the state polls later this year. Alliances are unlikely to matter in the four state elections scheduled towards the end of 2023. Three are direct contests between the BJP and the Congress.

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The BJP won 282 seats on its own in 2014, and the NDA together, 336; in 2019, the BJP won 303 and the NDA 352. The numbers indicate that the BJP doesn’t really need allies any more. But political scientist Sandeep Shastri said the objective behind BJP’s move may be linked to recent events, particularly the electoral setback in Karnataka.

“Does the BJP see that the developments in the recent past have put it on the back foot? Are they apprehensive about the strike rate not being achieved and they need more allies? Or is it a strategy to prevent their former allies from going over to the other side?” he said.

An office-bearer of SAD confirmed that there have been talks between the BJP and his party. “It can’t be taken for granted that we will go back to the NDA,” this person added. “There are many issues to be sorted out like the issue of the split in the SGPC. Till these issues are sorted out, nothing is for certain.”

The SAD walked out of the NDA in 2020 in protest against the proposed farm laws which were subsequently retracted by the Modi government.

The SAD was shrouded in an internal rift last year and had to expel Bibi Jagir Kaur from the party as she refused to back down from her decision of contesting the SGPC presidential poll after the party fielded incumbent Harjinder Singh Dhami for the post . The party also wants the Centre to push for a review of the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Committee Act, 2014, which was brought in by the Hooda government, as they feel that it interferes with the committee’s work.

“What we understand is that some of the parties that were with Atalji are being invited to come back to NDA. You can already see the plan in motion as many were present at the new Parliament opening,’ said a person aware of details. The reopening of Parliament was attended by 25 parties which other than the NDA, had the Biju Janata Dal, the TDP, the Sena rebel faction, the Akalis, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP). Interestingly, the BJP has also been speaking to the Janata Dal (S), a party formed by HD Deve Gowda when he split from the Lok Shakti Party, one of the original founders of the NDA. His logic at the time was that he wanted to stay equidistant from both the BJP and the Congress.

The BJP-led NDA has seen the exit of many parties, but while it has 16 members now (including the BJP), many are small regional formations. A new grouping, analysts said, could address this criticism.

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“The NDA of 1998 and the NDA of 2014 onwards are very different. The one of 1998 was the one where BJP didn’t have a majority but made it up with allies. The BJP of 2014 didn’t need but accommodated allies. Their outreach right now, ahead of 2024, may be for states where they are willing to be a junior partner like Andhra Pradesh and even Punjab,’’ said Shastri.