In 1998 when NDA was formed, the idea was that all the smaller, regional parties will join hands to counter the force of Congress. Samanvay (coordination) was the key focus when Vajpayee brought together these parties and formed NDA.
After much anticipation, the Shiromani Akali Dal on Saturday finally quit the National Democratic Alliance. It didn’t come as a big surprise since the former Food processing minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal had already resigned from the Modi Cabinet. Since the farm bills were introduced in the parliament, the Shiromani Akali Dal opposed it saying that the BJP- the biggest partner in the NDA did not consult with the party leaders. However, it remains a question why wasn’t this opposition raised when the Modi govt brought the Farm ordinance in the month of June itself.
Citing the differences over Farm Bills, Akali Dal quit NDA and thus ending one of the oldest and long-standing political alliance between two parties in India. A day later, Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal addressed the party workers in Punjab and said, “The farmers’ economic plight affects the entire economy. Anything like the new farm bills, which increases the uncertainty about the fate of farmers’ produce can have disastrous implications for the economy and social stability of the country. Therefore, what we are fighting for is to protect the country’s wider national interests.” “We are ready to join or follow any struggle in the overall interests of the farmers, farm labour, aarhatiyas (farm agents) and other farm produce traders,” He also called for opposition unity against new farm bills.
The call given by the Punjab leader has resonated well with the Shiv Sena and the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal.
“We support Mr Badal and SAD’s stand for the farmers. Fighting for farmers is part of Trinamool DNA. In 2006, Mamata Banerjee risked her life on a historic 26 day fast for farmers’ rights. We oppose Farm Bills 2020 as they endanger states’ role, minimum support price, the public distribution system, and procurement,” Derek O’Brien, the Trinamool Congress MP tweeted.
“Shiv Sena appreciates Akali Dal’s decision to break its ties with NDA in the interest of farmers,” Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut posted.
NCP Chief Sharad Pawar too took it to Twitter and said, “Congratulations to Shri Sukhbir Singh Badal President of @Akali_Dal_ and MP @HarsimratBadal_who under the leadership of Hon. Shri Prakash Singh Badal pulled out of NDA in a protest to Farmers’ Bills. Thanks for firmly standing with the Farmers!”
After the recent developments, it is important to talk about the deteriorating relationships between alies of the NDA. Let’s first go back to 2018.
Just ahead of the Karnataka elections, BJP’s ally in the southern state Andhra Pradesh Telugu Desam Party quit the NDA. TDP’s N Chandrababu Naidu cited the BJP govt dragging its feet over Special status to Andhra Pradesh as the reason. Apart from that Naidu also said that he or his party were not being heard in the National Democratic Alliance. TDP was with BJP since Late Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s era. Roughly, for almost two decades the party was with NDA and supported BJP but left the alliance in 2018.
Comes 2019. After the assembly elections of Maharashtra, ShivSena the party whose relations with BJP went beyond just the alliance quit NDA. The reason was that the BJP was not ready to cede the CM post to Sena and also was not committing to equal sharing of power in the state. Sena said this was one of the major points of agreement between the two before the Lok Sabha elections. ShivSena which once was the Motha Bhau i.e. Elder brother in the alliance was reduced to Chhota Bhau i.e. Younger Brother by BJP. The party which stood with the BJP through thick and thin due to its ideological bonding ended ties with the party. Quit the NDA in 2019.
Now In 2020, another alliance partner Shiromani Akali Dal has left the NDA fold over the Farm Laws issue. All three parties complained of one common factor. BJP not listening to alliance partners while taking any decision. This is something SAD MP Naresh Gujral has often talked about in the past. Even today, Harsimrat Kaur Badal who quit the Modi cabinet said that NDA is no longer the same as envisaged by Vajpayee Ji and Badal Ji.
Now let us highlight another interesting fact: NDA in total has close to 20 members, these include even the independent parties that sided with the BJP and those nominated. But the big parties in NDA who have a sizeable presence in the states were ShivSena, TDP, Shiromani Akali Dal, and AIADMK. While AIADMK is supporting BJP even today, rest three have parted ways with it. These are the parties that were brought under one umbrella by Late Atal Bihari Vajpayee in an effort to counter Congress.
In 1998 when NDA was formed, the idea was that all the smaller, regional parties will join hands to counter the force of Congress. Samanvay (coordination) was the key focus when Vajpayee brought together these parties and formed NDA. Mutual respect for other partners was also a key factor. Remember the story of how he won over Mamata Banerjee- the railway minister in his cabinet who was upset by visiting her family?
But with the 2014 victory of BJP and the rise of PM Modi, these equations in the NDA changed. In 2014, BJP won 282 seats. The NDA won 354 Seats. NDA’s Vote Share was 38.5% whereas BJP’s vote share alone was 31.3%. In 2019, NDA won 353 seats but BJP’s share grew significantly as it won 303 seats alone. NDA’s Vote share in this election was up to 45% but that of BJP was 37%. With the brute majority that it has even bigger than in 2014, the BJP has now the upper hand not only in Parliament but also in the NDA.
In states like Maharashtra and Bihar (where it still maintains alliance with JDU) BJP is gaining power as Big Brother and that eventually is threatening the regional parties even the ones that are allied with the BJP. BJP’s regional ambition is now even swallowing the regional parties.
However, the disintegration of NDA has not caused any worry to the BJP which is caught amid nationwide outrage over two major issues i.e. farm laws and labour bills. PM Modi calls them reforms but farmers and labour organizations are out on the streets. One of the reasons why BJP is not much bothered about the alliance faltering is its strong foothold in the Hindi heartland. Based on which it swayed to power. BJP didn’t get any success in Punjab. In Maharashtra, it already is the single largest party and in Andhra, it has a very minuscule presence. In Hindi Heartland, the Persona of PM Modi and its nationalist campaign is enough to sway the votes and even the party may agree to this.
But as Sanjay Raut said, with Akali Dal, TDP, and ShivSena gone, the original NDA is no more. One takeaway is also that as PM Modi rose in Indian politics he shadowed not only the opposition but also those standing with him. But now some of the oldest allies no longer want to stay in the shadows.
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