At a time when it is locked in an intractable confrontation with the opposition over the controversial land acquisition ordinance, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party is also feeling the heat from its allies who are seething over what they view as the arrogant attitude of its senior partner.
Although the Shiromani Akali Dal, Telugu Desam Party and Shiv Sena have been chafing silently for several months over the allegedly shabby treatment meted out to them by the BJP and the Modi government, they now speak freely in private conversations about their unhappiness.
They are feeling emboldened to speak out against the ruling dispensation as they realise that it is currently on the backfoot over its handling of the land bill while its management of the agrarian crisis in the country has rendered it vulnerable.
The TDP is upset with the Modi government as Andhra Pradesh is not getting the funds it was promised. The Shiv Sena has been on the warpath ever since it was forced to accept the BJP as its senior partner in Maharashtra after the 2014 assembly elections. The fragile nature of their relationship was all too evident in the recent local elections in Maharashtra. And the Akali Dal is fuming because of the growing mistrust between it and the saffron outfit in Punjab.
Enjoying BJP's discomfiture
According to the Akali Dal, the BJP’s Punjab unit was openly hostile and refused to cooperate with it in the recent Assembly bypoll in Dhuri. It was critical for the Akalis to win this election to achieve a clear mandate, while the BJP wanted the Akali Dal government in Punjab to remain dependent on its support. Eventually, the Akali Dal won the seat by a handsome margin.
The tensions between the two partners also came to the fore in the last Delhi assembly elections when the BJP wanted to deny the Akali Dal tickets. After it failed to so, the BJP worked hard to defeat the Akali candidates. The two parties have currently locked horns over the mayor’s post in the South Delhi municipal corporation. The Akali Dal is also furious over the summary manner in which Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi asked its Rajya Sabha MP Naresh Gujral to withdraw his candidature from the membership of the powerful Parliamentary panel, the Committee on Public Undertakings. Gujral only relented following Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s intervention.
Given the nature of their relationship, it is therefore not surprising that BJP partners are enjoying the government’s discomfiture and are hoping its leaders will become more accommodating now. The three allies are in constant touch with one another and they are seriously contemplating forming a ginger group if their grievances are not addressed. For instance, Shiv Sena chief calls up Akali Dal leader Naresh Gujral often to confer on their strategy in Parliament and other issues.
However, the three parties have stopped short of holding formal meetings or handing in formal memorandums on their demands as they do not want to be seen as rebels. They are well aware that the BJP has a clear mandate in the Lok Sabha where it is not dependent on allies.
“We have not reached the stage of open rebellion yet but the people will teach them a lesson,” remarked a TDP leader. “Nobody imagined that the BJP would be pushed on the defensive less than a year after its massive victory in the last Lok Sabha election. The honeymoon period of any new government normally lasts over two years.”
No coordination mechanism
With the current agrarian distress snowballing into a major crisis, the allies would like the government to go slow on the land acquisition bill. Asserting that the government had bungled on this score, the Akali Dal said it was clearly unaware of the gravity of the problem. The NDA allies’ message is: “This is no time to push ahead with the land bill…we should focus on addressing the grievances of farmers whose crops have been destroyed by the unseasonal rains.”
The regional parties are also miffed because there is no formal coordination mechanism between them and the BJP to thrash out contentious issues. When Atal Behari Vajpayee was the prime minister, the National Democratic Alliance government had a formal committee comprising all partners for formal consultations. It always met before every Parliament session to ensure better floor coordination. However, this government failed to constitute any such panel.
The allies said they always had reservations about the land bill as it was widely perceived to be anti-farmer and pro-corporate. However, there was no formal forum where they could air their grievances. Had the government taken them into confidence before promulgating the land ordinance, they said, it would not have been in the mess it finds itself in today.
An Akali Dal leader noted that they finally got a chance to have their say when the BJP invited its alliance partners to a formal meeting on the land bill for the first time in the last session. “We were then promised that a consultative mechanism would soon be put in place but nothing has happened so far,” he added. As a result, allies do not know who to approach with their problems. “Arun Jaitley is the only approachable minister in the BJP but how often can we go to him with our grievances,” remarked a TDP leader.
Although the Shiromani Akali Dal, Telugu Desam Party and Shiv Sena have been chafing silently for several months over the allegedly shabby treatment meted out to them by the BJP and the Modi government, they now speak freely in private conversations about their unhappiness.
They are feeling emboldened to speak out against the ruling dispensation as they realise that it is currently on the backfoot over its handling of the land bill while its management of the agrarian crisis in the country has rendered it vulnerable.
The TDP is upset with the Modi government as Andhra Pradesh is not getting the funds it was promised. The Shiv Sena has been on the warpath ever since it was forced to accept the BJP as its senior partner in Maharashtra after the 2014 assembly elections. The fragile nature of their relationship was all too evident in the recent local elections in Maharashtra. And the Akali Dal is fuming because of the growing mistrust between it and the saffron outfit in Punjab.
Enjoying BJP's discomfiture
According to the Akali Dal, the BJP’s Punjab unit was openly hostile and refused to cooperate with it in the recent Assembly bypoll in Dhuri. It was critical for the Akalis to win this election to achieve a clear mandate, while the BJP wanted the Akali Dal government in Punjab to remain dependent on its support. Eventually, the Akali Dal won the seat by a handsome margin.
The tensions between the two partners also came to the fore in the last Delhi assembly elections when the BJP wanted to deny the Akali Dal tickets. After it failed to so, the BJP worked hard to defeat the Akali candidates. The two parties have currently locked horns over the mayor’s post in the South Delhi municipal corporation. The Akali Dal is also furious over the summary manner in which Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi asked its Rajya Sabha MP Naresh Gujral to withdraw his candidature from the membership of the powerful Parliamentary panel, the Committee on Public Undertakings. Gujral only relented following Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s intervention.
Given the nature of their relationship, it is therefore not surprising that BJP partners are enjoying the government’s discomfiture and are hoping its leaders will become more accommodating now. The three allies are in constant touch with one another and they are seriously contemplating forming a ginger group if their grievances are not addressed. For instance, Shiv Sena chief calls up Akali Dal leader Naresh Gujral often to confer on their strategy in Parliament and other issues.
However, the three parties have stopped short of holding formal meetings or handing in formal memorandums on their demands as they do not want to be seen as rebels. They are well aware that the BJP has a clear mandate in the Lok Sabha where it is not dependent on allies.
“We have not reached the stage of open rebellion yet but the people will teach them a lesson,” remarked a TDP leader. “Nobody imagined that the BJP would be pushed on the defensive less than a year after its massive victory in the last Lok Sabha election. The honeymoon period of any new government normally lasts over two years.”
No coordination mechanism
With the current agrarian distress snowballing into a major crisis, the allies would like the government to go slow on the land acquisition bill. Asserting that the government had bungled on this score, the Akali Dal said it was clearly unaware of the gravity of the problem. The NDA allies’ message is: “This is no time to push ahead with the land bill…we should focus on addressing the grievances of farmers whose crops have been destroyed by the unseasonal rains.”
The regional parties are also miffed because there is no formal coordination mechanism between them and the BJP to thrash out contentious issues. When Atal Behari Vajpayee was the prime minister, the National Democratic Alliance government had a formal committee comprising all partners for formal consultations. It always met before every Parliament session to ensure better floor coordination. However, this government failed to constitute any such panel.
The allies said they always had reservations about the land bill as it was widely perceived to be anti-farmer and pro-corporate. However, there was no formal forum where they could air their grievances. Had the government taken them into confidence before promulgating the land ordinance, they said, it would not have been in the mess it finds itself in today.
An Akali Dal leader noted that they finally got a chance to have their say when the BJP invited its alliance partners to a formal meeting on the land bill for the first time in the last session. “We were then promised that a consultative mechanism would soon be put in place but nothing has happened so far,” he added. As a result, allies do not know who to approach with their problems. “Arun Jaitley is the only approachable minister in the BJP but how often can we go to him with our grievances,” remarked a TDP leader.
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