Just as the BJP is courting allies with alacrity, the putative alliance of Opposition parties that appeared on the horizon in mid-2023 is unravelling, if at all it ever took any concrete form.
The BJP has announced a tie-up with Chandrababu Naidu’s Telugu Desam Party which had parted ways in 2018 over the issue of unfulfilled promises for Andhra Pradesh. Mr. Naidu has slowly made his way back to the NDA by distancing himself from the Opposition.
The BJP is assiduously courting the Biju Janata Dal, to revive their alliance formed between 1998-2009, in Odisha.
The Akali Dal is waiting for the farmers’ agitation to blow over before it could make its next move, potentially to march back to the NDA camp. Efforts are on to bring the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam back into the NDA’s fold in Tamil Nadu.
The most striking of all the recent realignments has been that of Janata Dal (United) chief and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who is now championing a third consecutive term for the BJP at the Centre, after calling for its defeat in the preceding months.
Script and Presentation: Nistula Hebbar
Visuals: The Hindu Archives, Getty images
Production: Kanishkaa Balachandiran, Yuvasree S
