NDA convener and Janata Dal (United) chief Sharad Yadav said on Tuesday that they would definitely give a push “if the UPA government is falling anyway.”
Mr. Yadav’s statement comes in the wake of Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee’s statement that her party could consider moving a no-confidence motion against the government in the winter session of Parliament that is likely to be held in November third week.
Ever since the Trinamool withdrew support to the UPA government, the NDA leaders in general and the BJP brass in particular have repeatedly been emphasising that they would do nothing to destabilise the government on their own. The BJP’s position is based on the assessment that as things stand, the UPA has numbers on its side and a no-confidence motion would serve no purpose. It believes such a move would be counter-productive as the government could project defeat of a no-confidence motion as vindication of all its recent decisions. In addition, there is no consensus among the constituents of the NDA and within the BJP on the merits of an early election.
“The NDA will not bring a no-confidence motion but if anybody else brings it, we will weigh the option and decide. We are not focussed on ousting the government but if it is falling anyway, we will definitely give it a push,” Mr. Yadav maintained.
Mr. Yadav shared the dais with Ms. Banerjee on Monday at the Trinamool’s Jantar Mantar rally in protest against the decision to allow foreign investors in the multi-brand retail as well as the hike in diesel price.
On the possibility of emergence of a new front in the national politics, the JD(U) chief said: “My personal assessment is that there can be no such alliance now. Third front or fourth front was possible when the Janata Dal was a national party having presence in Bihar, U.P., Orissa, Karnataka and some other States. The wheel moves only when there is an axis. That axis is not there for the formation of a new front.”
“There are three alliances right now — the UPA, the NDA and the Left. While Congress is the axis of the UPA, the BJP is the axis of the NDA. In the Left Front, the CPI(M) is the axis. That’s it,” he said.
