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BJP’s poll losses a boost to allies

NEW DELHI: Call it political necessity or vulnerability, BJP president Amit Shah’s meetings with allies this week point to a change since May 2014. A party that managed to keep its allies confined to the farther end of the table after the General Election landslide is now reaching out to pacify the upset partners.

BJP’s poll losses a boost to allies

BJP chief Amit Shah. PTI file photo



Vibha Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 10

Call it political necessity or vulnerability, BJP president Amit Shah’s meetings with allies this week certainly point towards a change since May 2014.

A party that managed to keep its allies confined to the farther end of the table after the General Election landslide is now reaching out to pacify the upset partners. Apparently, the poll debacles since 2014 and repeated standoffs in Parliament have made the allies dearer to the BJP.

Shah made the right noises for the benefit of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) — an ally that the Punjab BJP wanted to part ways with — to send out a message that all is well between the two partners. Clearly, the saffron party needs allies to stay by its side to counter the perception that the Narendra Modi government is slipping on the popularity front.

“The aim is to take everyone along,” BJP leaders say when asked about the meetings, aimed at giving allies the attention and importance they felt they enjoyed with the Atal Behari Vajpayee government.

The recent placatory efforts are expected to be followed by more such exercises. Wanting to be kept in the loop on all decisions, allies have warned the BJP to not take them for granted. Confined to a portfolio or two in the Modi government, they are also seeking a bigger share in the pie.

The Bihar and Delhi debacles and poor performance in the local bodies in key states like Maharashtra, Gujarat and UP have returned to the allies the bargaining power they had lost in 2014. BJP sources say the question is not of winning just Assembly elections, but also long term — the 2019 General Election.

But before that the BJP needs to change perceptions and the prevailing situation in Parliament. With the Opposition all set to corner the government and stall Bills, the BJP needs all the support it can get from its partners.

The upcoming Budget Session is crucial for the BJP. Apart from the challenge of delivering a healthy balance sheet in an extremely difficult economic scenario, both domestic and global, the government also expects the Opposition to raise sensitive issues such as Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula’s suicide, Malda violence, and the imposition of President’s rule in Arunachal Pradesh.

The government wants to clear key Bills such as the Constitution amendment Bill to allow the goods and services tax (GST) and the real estate Bill. While senior ministers in the government are hopeful that the Bills will be passed in the second half of the session, the fact is GST continues to be opposed by the Congress, the Left and the AIADMK.

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