DNA Edit: Fault lines in ​the ​NDA

Only a year to go before the 2019 general elections and the seemingly rock-solid BJP-led NDA alliance appears vulnerable. The chinks in the armour bear a sense of foreboding. A united, ruling dispensation faces challenges from within, and not from a disjointed Opposition.

With partners pulling in different directions to protect their own interests, the BJP has to play a galvanising role if it wants the coalition to survive. The developments of the past week indicate that the otherwise subservient allies have suddenly gathered courage to speak against the BJP.

There is little doubt that the UP bypoll results have added fuel to the fire of discontent. With Gorakhpur, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s bastion, falling into the hands of the Samajwadi Party, questions are being raised about the BJP’s invincibility at the hustings. While the Maharashtra-based Shiv Sena has been pin-pricking the coalition both at the state and the Centre, and the TDP’s disenchantment was loud and clear before it quit the NDA, what’s disconcerting for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah are the new voices joining the chorus of dissent.

Every murmur of criticism or a veiled threat is an attempt at testing the possibility of new alliances outside the contours of NDA, or going solo. The PM’s charisma and nationwide appeal among voters, Shah’s organisational skills and the RSS’s grassroots connect have had a fearsome effect on the regional parties of the coalition.

With a growing perception that the situation on the ground may not be conducive for a repeat of the 2014 success, allies have begun stock-taking. The wily Bihar CM and JD(U) supremo Nitish Kumar intends to steer clear of forces which have disrupted social harmony. Kumar is eyeing a special status tag for Bihar and using the current climate of rebellion to increase his bargaining power. Otherwise, why is he suddenly echoing another NDA partner LJP’s Ram Vilas Pawan’s statement urging the BJP to implement its slogan, ‘sabka saath sabka vikas’ slogan in letter and spirit for an inclusive society?

In UP, the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party has threatened to withdraw support to BJP’s Rajya Sabha nominee “if Amit Shah doesn’t hold talks with us”. What seems to be going against the BJP is the less-than-rosy economic scenario and the failure to meet the growing expectations of the youth yearning for jobs.

Demonetisation and GST having inconvenienced small-time traders and businessmen had also rendered lakhs of people in the informal sector, jobless. On the other hand, farmers across the country are up in arms against the NDA for its seeming callousness towards genuine agrarian distress.

Last but not the least is a deep polarisation of society along communal lines leading to an atmosphere of hate and suspicion. The BJP needs to do more than just offering a healing touch.