The Friend Zone Blahs: With Ally Troubles, BJP Needs Some Soul-Searching

Though the AGP바카라�s exit wouldn바카라�t hurt the Sarbananda Sonowal-led BJP ­government in Assam, it will definitely alter the arithmetic in the Lok Sabha polls later this year. It could well be the beginning of the troubles for the BJP in the Northeast as most parties in the region, including its allies such as the National People바카라�s Party (NPP) in Megh­alaya and the Indigenous People바카라�s Front of Tripura (IPFT), oppose the bill and it is likely to prove politically costly for the saffron party.

Putting the blame squarely on the Assam CM and his council of ministers for not thwarting the bill바카라�s passage, the AGP said it바카라�s an anti-people move. 바카라�We expected Sonowal to help us and it was his responsibility to raise his voice against the bill that will bring doom to the state,바카라� says AGP president Atul Bora. 바카라�Many may think we were there for greed of power, but we wanted to fight staying in the government. And we fought till the last moment.바카라�

With the entire Northeast up in arms against the bill and the Congress looking to woo the AGP into its fold, the BJP바카라�s dream of bagging 21 out of the 25 Lok Sabha seats in the region may take a hit. The BJP, however, remains unfazed and its leaders claim those who quit the NDA would end up regretting it. 바카라�The AGP was not a BJP ally in 2014 and its departure won바카라�t hurt BJP바카라�s prospects in Assam,바카라� says BJP spokesperson G.V.L. Narasimha Rao. 바카라�Our party has always followed the best traditions of coalition dharma and tried to accommodate the concerns of allies. Parties that have left us will rue their decision.바카라�

However, political analysts say the BJP would be contesting the general elections this time with considerably less allies than it had in 2014. 바카라�NDA in 2019 will be much weaker than NDA in 2014,바카라� says Sanjay Kumar, director, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), Delhi. 바카라�The signals are clear. The number of allies the BJP managed to attract in 2014 will come down this time. Modi was the glue then. That factor is missing now and the party has already lost some important allies.바카라�

The party lost a key ally in March 2018, when N. Chandrababu Naidu of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) quit the NDA citing its failure to meet his dem­and for special status to Andhra Pra­desh. Upendra Kushwaha바카라�s Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) followed suit in December. Defending his decision to exit the NDA, Kushwaha says the BJP is an utter failure at 바카라�coalition dharma바카라�. 바카라�It only wants to finish off the smaller parties. They never walk the talk and only imp­lement the RSS agenda. They had no reason to deny three seats to my party,바카라� he says. Last June, the BJP had walked out of its ruling coalition with the PDP in Jammu and Kashmir.

While murmurs of disenchantment are growing louder in big states like Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, BJP leaders refuse to attribute it to the setback the party faced in recent ­assembly elections. In UP, where the Bahujan Sama­j Party (BSP) and the Samajwadi Party (SP) announced an alliance, the BJP is grappling with its bickering partners바카라�the Suheldev Bha­ratiya Samaj Party (SBSP) and Apna Dal (Sonelal), who are seeking more respect and recognition from the Amit Shah-led party. A senior BJP leader feels it바카라�s usual for regional parties in UP or elsewhere to make noises to be heard during election season.

Maintaining that they are very much part of the NDA, Apna Dal (S) president Ashish Patel says his party will wait for the central leadership to concede its demands on reservation in contractual jobs and appointment of OBCs at tehsil offices and police stations. Claiming it was the Yogi Adityanath-led government바카라�s apathy towards the party that necessitated an outburst, he said Apna Dal leader Anupriya Patel, who is Union minister of state for health and family welfare, was not invited to the foundation stone-laying ceremony for the State Medical College at Siddharthnagar.

바카라�Despite our nine MLAs and two MPs, we are ignored. There have been a lot of political appointments, but none of our men have been appointed so far. Dalits and OBCs supported the NDA in 2014, but they are disappointed now,바카라� adds the Apna Dal (S) president, reiterating that if their demands are not met, they can go to any extent.

While BJP state spokesperson Harish Chandra Srivastava dismisses all talk of a rift as rumours and seems confident that the alliance is firmly in place, political observer Prof Badri Narayan feels that if both the SBSP and Apna Dal (S) choose to leave, it would be a setback for the BJP.

Analysts say allies are alienated by the way the BJP functions. Citing the party바카라�s constant run-INS with its oldest ally, the Shiv Sena, Sanjay Kumar says the two parties seem to be on the verge of a break-up this time. 바카라�None of the ­allies are happy with the BJP, thanks to the style of functioning of the PM and the party president,바카라� says Kumar. As the spat bet­w­een BJP and the Shiv Sena intensifies, the possibility of an alliance for the 48 Lok Sabha seats in Mah­arashtra is fast receding.

Airing his party바카라�s disp­l­easure over the BJP바카라�s highhandedness, Sena MP Anil Desai says his party never minced words in criticising the saffron party바카라�s wrong policies. 바카라�As an ally, we were never consulted on many important decisions, whether demonetisation or GST. The state and central governments failed on many counts to deliver on their promises, resulting in agrarian distress, unemployment and many other issues. Being the bigger party, it is the BJP바카라�s responsibility to fulfill the people바카라�s mandate, though we are also answerable to the electorate as an ally,바카라� says Desai.

While the Shiv Sena has been vehemently attacking the state and central governments on many fronts, the BJP too recently hardened its stand, with national president Amit Shah threatening to go solo in the elections. Reacting to the BJP바카라�s exhortation to its cadres to aim for 40 seats without the help of the Sena, Desai says his party will tackle it in its own way. 바카라�There are different ways to go about being in a coalition. But if you are openly exhorting party workers to defeat us, we have our way of handling it. Our leader Uddav Thack­eray will take a final call,바카라� he says. With the Congress and the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party reaching an amicable seat-sharing arrangement, the road ahead in Maharashtra is not going to be smooth for the BJP.

Another of the older allies of the BJP, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in Pun­jab has been voicing its displeasure over the saffron party neglecting the smaller parties. Drawing parallels with the Atal Behari Vajpayee era, Rajya Sabha member and SAD leader Naresh Gujral says uneasy relationship with allies doesn바카라�t augur well during election time. 바카라�The BJP should be more magnanimous towards small parties and treat them with more respect,바카라� says Gujral, adding that the style of functioning of the PM and the BJP president is the main reason for allies to snap ties with the NDA.

However, Bihar looks promising for the BJP with the NDA alliance in place, says an analyst. Though the BJP managed to retain the Lok Janshakti Party in its fold after a hard bargain on seat-sharing, it was a face-palm mom­ent when the other ally, the RLSP, chose to join the mahagathbandhan바카라�the anti-­NDA grand alliance.