BJP president Amit Shah will be continuing his outreach towards restive NDA allies by meeting Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray in Mumbai on Wednesday and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Parkash Singh Badal in Chandigarh on Thursday.
The meetings follow a similar one-on-one with Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) chief Ram Vilas Paswan in New Delhi on Sunday.
NDA allies have been miffed at the BJP for a while, with the Shiv Sena making public its intention of going it alone in the 2019 Lok Sabha election.
The party also fielded a candidate against the BJP in the recent Palghar byelection in Maharashtra.
Sena leader Sanjay Rout confirmed that Mr. Shah had sought an appointment from Mr. Thackeray and the meeting would take place at the latter’s residence ‘Matoshree’ on Wednesday evening.
The BJP and Shiv Sena had contested the 2014 Assembly elections separately, with the former emerging as the bigger party. The subsequent rapprochement has seen the Shiv Sena struggle with new realities after playing big brother to the BJP in the State in the past.
In the face of a combined opposition having trounced the BJP in successive bypolls in Uttar Pradesh, and the open call given by former ally Telegu Desam Party (TDP) that it would actively work to defeat the BJP not only on its turf, Andhra Pradesh but also wherever the opposition needed its help, the BJP has undertaken a belated outreach programme.
Akalis unhappy
The SAD, while not publicly expressing its anger at the treatment meted out to it by the BJP, has a number of grouses against it.
“We have been allies with the BJP since before this current crop of leadership was even active in the party. When the NDA came to power, we were promised a governorship (UPA had three Sikh governors), and in the last NDA government Sikh members of the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) and the Minority Education Commissioner were based on our recommendations. This time, the government has gone by the recommendations of the Rashtriya Sikh Sangat,” said a source in the SAD. While the BJP is holding a belated dinner meeting with office bearers of all its allies in Bihar on Thursday, the Janata Dal (U) has already declared that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will be the alliance’s face in the State.
Gesture from Modi
Mr. Shah will have his work cut out wooing estranged allies in time for the 2019 polls, especially when the opposition appears to be consolidating against the BJP and the party appears vulnerable. In fact more than Mr. Shah, allies say, a gesture from Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself will not go amiss in this venture.
“It’s the last year before polls; a gesture from Prime Minister Modi is required to reassure allies and to reverse the arrogant treatment accorded to us,” said a senior leader of an NDA ally from the north.
