With 2019 polls around the corner, a look at BJP's souring relations with its allies

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP national president Amit Shah

Earlier this month, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national president Amit Shah reached out to two of National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) allies —Shiv Sena and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) — in an effort to improve souring relations.

With 2019 Lok Sabha elections in sight and Opposition parties joining hands for a grand alliance to fight the ruling government, the BJP is leaving no stone unturned to woo its associate parties.

Asked about the saffron party's recent overtures, an SAD leader said, "The BJP has been losing bypolls in several states. That is the only reason why they are reaching out to NDA partners. It’s been four years of this government but there has been no attempt to meet or discuss strategies with any NDA member.”

Shiv Sena’s mouthpiece, Saamna, called Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah wilful defaulters in ally management, hours ahead of a Sena-BJP meeting in Mumbai on June 6. The editorial also went on to ask, "Why is Amit Shah meeting NDA allies after losing by-elections?"

"In 2019, the Shiv Sena will fight alone," it asserted.

Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu’s Telugu Desam Party (TDP) has already made an exit from the NDA in March this year over the Centre's delay in granting special status to the state.

Strained ties between BJP and JD(U)

There is also a sense of uneasiness between JD (U) and BJP with speculations of Nitish Kumar making a U-turn. According to a JD(U) leader, Kumar’s problem is that the BJP remains cold to his concerns on political, administrative and governance issues, leading to serious differences between the two parties.

Former Bihar chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi also walked out of the NDA in February this year.

What are the reasons for strained ties with allies?

In Maharashtra, the BJP and Shiv Sena court a similar political constituency and both need support of each other and, to a large extent, can grow only at the expense of the other.

In Punjab, the BJP and the Akali Dal occupy different political spaces. While the former is no threat to the latter, the Akali Dal is unhappy with what it sees as step-motherly treatment meted out to it.

What are BJP’s chances in Maharashtra and Bihar?

In the 2014 assembly elections, the BJP and Shiv Sena had come together for a post-poll alliance. Now it remains to be seen if Amit Shah’s recent visit to Matoshree, the residence of Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray, would lead to a thaw in their hot-cold relationship. Both parties are aware that contesting alone would prove to be fatal if the Congress and Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) come together.

Seat-sharing in Bihar also would not be easy for BJP as it may need to deny tickets to sitting MPs to accommodate the JD(U). According to a report by Mint, till 2009, the BJP used to contest 15 seats while in 2014, it alone won 22 seats in the state.

Convincing Ram Vilas Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party and Upendra Kushwaha’s Rashtriya Lok Samata Party, which had contested 10 seats in 2014, would be a further challenge for the BJP, the report added.