The BJP has moved to revive the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partly because it has a sense of electoral insecurity now and partly because it thinks it is better to be seen as part of a coalition than as a single dominant and overbearing party in opposition to a representative political coalition. It assembled a large number of parties from all over the country, many of which are unknown and have no presence in parliament or state assemblies.
But many represent disparate social groups. Some are parts of the parties of the old NDA which the BJP managed to break. It has boasted of 38 parties in its camp as against 26 under the INDIA tent. The optics of large coalitions is important and is meant to impress. The BJP has said the decision to hold the meeting had nothing to do with the Opposition holding its meetings in Patna and Bengaluru, but it certainly was a meet-for-meet exercise.
The defeat in the Karnataka Assembly elections in May may have dented the BJP’s confidence about facing the 2024 Lok Sabha elections on its own. Most of the important parties in the old NDA like the Shiv Sena and the Akali Dal had left over the years, and JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar has crossed over to the Opposition. There could also have been realisation that the party would face serious electoral challenges in many states where it is not in power. While Prime Minister Narendra Modi still remains a popular leader with high electoral appeal, especially among the BJP’s traditional vote banks, there are indications that the appeal may be diminishing. Issues like unemployment, price rise, and social strife are troubling large sections of people and they could give rise to or strengthen sentiments against the government.
The NDA meeting was attended by Modi and other top leaders of the BJP. It was meant to “highlight the achievements of the government in the last nine years and to discuss the upcoming elections.” But the elections were hardly discussed. The Prime Minister described the Opposition alliance as opportunistic and one born out of “compulsion” while praising his own NDA as a symbol of “coalition and contribution” that was formed with a common agenda and to fulfil “a rainbow of regional aspirations”. His description of the Opposition alliance would suit the NDA also too well. The Prime Minister redefined the NDA as “New India, Developed Nation, Aspiration of People of India.” He said that for the alliance, it was “nation first, security of the nation first, progress first, and empowerment of people first”. This is all election rhetoric with which the new NDA will go into the 2024 fray against INDIA.