BJP May Need Support Of Erratic Allies, JDU and TDP To Make Amendments In Preamble

Paromita Das

GG News Bureau

New Delhi, 5th June. Bharat’s politics has shifted to the phase of alliances, where plans for major reforms like the Uniform Civil Code, “One Nation, One Poll,” or modifications to the Preamble will have to make way for the imperatives of maintaining stable governance. This is because the Bharatiya Janata Party has failed miserably to reach the halfway point in its tenure, and needs the support of erratic allies like N Chandrababu Naidu of the Telugu Desam and Nitish Kumar of the Janata Dal (U).

The National Democratic Alliance, which is collectively positioned for an absolute majority, will undoubtedly form the government, but how well the leading party within the coalition handles the demands of its allies will determine the nature and course of the government. Undoubtedly, the BJP is astute enough to see that the TDP and the JD (U), headed by people who have the same aspirations to become Prime Minister, are not the most reliable allies. To maintain some stability, the BJP will therefore make a concerted effort to satisfy the relatively modest demands of its smaller alliance partners and keep them in the fold, all the while attempting to enlist support from beyond the pre-election coalition. In any case, this result will have an effect on the BJP’s ten years of decisive control, which included dealing with political opponents and enacting reforms.

More than 200 opposition members in the lower house might pose a serious challenge to the BJP’s style of governing, necessitating compromise and accommodation as the new standard. However, the BJP will also have to reflect on its mistakes, particularly in Uttar Pradesh, where the Prime Minister’s margin of victory shrank significantly and the Faizabad (Ayodhya) seat appears to have been lost despite the temple controversy, and to a lesser degree in Maharashtra, West Bengal, Rajasthan, and Assam. Nevertheless, the party will find support from its victories in Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat as well as from the Kashmir valley’s acceptance of its claim that leaders like Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti are opportunists. Without a question, the opposition has gained momentum, and the Indian National Congress—a party that pollsters and commentators alike have written off—has benefited the most from this election. The party will need to use political acumen as the natural leader of the Opposition if it is to challenge for power in 2029.

The party was amenable to allies and successfully put together a workable coalition in the shape of the INDIA alliance for the first time in recent memory. It must keep these lessons in mind in the coming days and years and resist the want to go back to its oppressive practices, particularly when interacting with political allies. The results should suit the following regional parties: the Trinamool Congress, the DMK, the Samajwadi Party, Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena party, and Sharad Pawar’s NCP. Even while more examination will need to wait for a more thorough disclosure of the outcomes and the stances taken by political formations, one last point needs to be stated. It’s time to acknowledge that exit polls, pollsters, and analysts who predicted figures significantly different from the outcomes are left looking angry; their projections are, at most, educated estimates that should be regarded with an ounce of contempt.