In the 25 years of its existence, the National Democratic Alliance or NDA has been an enduring front of coalition politics – beginning in the late 90s. But the two-and-half decade journey has meant that strands of continuity and change are now more distinctly visible.
One major change has been the dominant role of NDA’s key party – the Bharatiya Janta Party – at the core of its electoral strength. A measure of how heavily the current NDA, with 38 constituent parties, relies on the BJP for its strength can be seen in some stark numbers. Out of the alliance’s current tally of 329 Lok Sabha seats, the BJP alone accounts for 301 seats. That means the remaining 37 parties have added only 28 seats to that aggregate.
