DNA Special: Souring alliances a matter of concern or part of BJP’s national political plan?

With Nitish Kumar moving out of the NDA fold ending a nearly three-decade-old alliance, the BJP seems to have been left out in the cold, with no ally in the Hindi heartland. But is this actually something that concerns the ruling party or part of a foresighted strategy? Let us first take a look at the list of alliances BJP had, which have been broken over the years: 

The BJP had an alliance of more than two decades with the Akali Dal in Punjab. The two parties came together for the first time in 1997 Punjab Legislative Assembly elections and the alliance lasted till the year 2020. In 2020, the Akalis moved out of the alliance, citing the farmers’ cause amid the agitation over the now-repealed farm laws. 

Like the Akali Dal, Shiv Sena was also one of the oldest allies of the BJP in Maharashtra. For the first time in 1989, an alliance was forged between the two parties, and then both parties fought the Lok Sabha elections together. The alliance lasted till 2019 with the Shiv Sena calling it quits after the last Assembly polls in Maharashtra over the chief minister's post. 

Notably, earlier Shiv Sena was in the role of elder brother and BJP as younger brother. But in the 2014 Assembly elections, BJP won more seats, and the power-sharing arrangement led to the differences between the two allies. 

In Jammu and Kashmir, BJP had an alliance with Mehbooba Mufti's party PDP. But in 2018, the BJP broke the alliance with the PDP on the issue of terrorism.

In Odisha, Naveen Patnaik's party Biju Janata Dal (BJD) was an alliance partner of the BJP. In 2000, both the parties started a joint government in the state. However, this alliance broke in 2008. But over the past few years, Naveen Patnaik has extended support to BJP on different issues, with the latest one being backing Draupadi Murmu in the presidential elections.

In Haryana, the BJP had an alliance with the Indian National Lok Dal. which later broke. And now, the BJP's alliance with JD(U) has come to an end in Bihar.

Now the question is whether the separation of regional parties from the BJP is a matter of concern for the saffron party or is there any bigger plan behind this?

Till two decades ago, the BJP was considered a party of upper-caste voters in the country. That is, the image of the BJP was such that everyone thought that it had the support of only upper castes. Because of this, the BJP had to form alliances with regional parties to get votes of Dalits, backwards and tribals in different states. 

But, when Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister in 2014, the BJP managed to get rid of this image. The party defeated the parties mastering caste politics in a state like Uttar Pradesh, and emerged as a party, which is supported by every section of the society and people of every caste. This is the reason that since then, the BJP has changed its strategy regarding alliance in the states.

Secondly, under the leadership of PM Modi, BJP has stood as a formidable force against the entire opposition. This was the situation of the Congress during the era of Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. Back then, all the regional parties used to stand together against the Congress, and now the same goes against the BJP. This has inspired the party to go ahead without an alliance, and this is part of BJP's National Political Plan.

The most important point is that the BJP has won the Lok Sabha elections on its own not once but twice in a row. In 2014, the party won 282 seats, and in 2019, the party won 303 seats. This boosted the confidence of BJP and made it understand that even without small and regional parties, it can get majority on its own. This is the reason why regional parties now have lesser influence on it, and this is why it does not bother much if the alliance breaks in any state.

A few days back when BJP President when JP Nadda was on a tour of Bihar, he had also mentioned about this. He had said that today there is no national party left in the country fighting against the BJP. The real fight of BJP is with dynasty politics.