BJP in a pickle to pacify allies, face Oppn

Can Narendra Modi convert his slogan of ‘Sub Ka Saath Sub Ka Vikas’ into reality and prove to be a good coalition leader as Atal Behari Vajpayee had done in the past when TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu was the convener of NDA?

This is the big question. The BJP has two most important partners TDP and JD(U) with 16 and 12 seats respectively. A host of other parties are demanding more funds for their respective states besides cabinet positions as negotiations began to form a coalition government. It remains to be seen to what extent the BJP will meet their demands and how would it pacify its sulking allies.

Special status is a major issue for Andhra Pradesh and Bihar. While the UPA government had promised special status for AP in Rajya Sabha at the time of bifurcation, the NDA that came to power later denied but offered a special package but before even that became a reality, the TDP government’s term was over and it suffered a severe drubbing and the new government led by YS Jaganmohan Reddy threw its hands up in the air, saying the Centre did not need their support and, hence, they cannot force NDA to accord the special status. Special status allows states to receive more federal development funds. Polavaram project and several road connectivity projects taken up by the Naidu government in 2014-2029 also wait to be completed.

Apart from this, the big issue is whether Modi can go ahead with the revolutionary changes he had promised during his election speeches. He said that during his third term some major decisions would be taken. With a strong opposition in place will it be possible for Modi to be so cavalier in his attitude?

The government this time needs to exhibit tremendous amount of patience to hear the opposition voice. But then the opposition, too, should behave in a more disciplined and matured manner. It may oppose some of the moves of the government like ‘one nation one election,’ big ticket reforms or moves to curb corruption. It may enact drama as it did in the last Lok Sabha, stalling the proceedings on other issues such as Adanis or Ambanis or some other issues.

Lok Sabha is meant for deliberations and decisions not to derail proceedings for narrow political gains. While the nation awaits Modi to walk the talk which he said were his guarantees, the opposition will also be under scanner and any immature behavior by the Leader of Opposition would be disastrous political move for the INDIA bloc. It is being said that Rahul Gandhi could be the LoP and he is known for all kinds of theatrics in the House.

Rahul may also want to insist more on issues such as how the stock market zoomed a day ahead of the final results and how it later crashed, instead of putting his experience of Bharat Jodo Yatra and force the government to take people-centric decisions.

It is high time the members of all political parties show greater maturity and work for the welfare of the people or else the bloc INDIA which had emerged stronger in Lok Sabha will crash like the stock market as it did on the day of poll results.