TINA keeps NDA intact, ‘secular’ allies with BJP

There is no alternative. The BJP’s secular allies may not be comfortable with the triumph of Narendra Modi’s hard Hindutva line i...

There is no alternative. The BJP’s secular allies may not be comfortable with the triumph of Narendra Modi’s hard Hindutva line in Gujarat but do not visualise an alliance option outside the BJP in the next Lok Sabha polls.

There has been no overt expression of enthusiasm by the allies over the BJP’s victory given that the party adopted an aggressive Hindutva line in the Gujarat campaign. But a repeat performance in next year’s Assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi will certainly gladden their hearts.

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Whatever version of Hindutva the BJP may choose to employ in these states, a victory would certainly tempt parties like the TDP to continue to do business with it. Their only worry appears to be their loss of bargaining power vis-a-vis the BJP.

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The TDP for instance has enough reasons to feel happy that the Congress, its main rival in Andhra Pradesh, has not got another state. Had the communal riots not taken place and Naidu’s demand for Modi’s ouster not been summarily dismissed by the BJP, the TDP would be celebrating openly today.

But the hard political reality for Naidu is that his party has the option of continuing to sail with the BJP or revert to its alliance with the Left parties in his state. Given the way the BJP has tied up its alliances in various key states, such as Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, and the remote possibility of a non-BJP, non-Congress front making the grade, it makes better sense for the TDP to do business with the BJP.

The TDP’s main worry though is that it may have to yield a larger number of seats to the BJP than it did in the last LS and Assembly polls.

The Trinamool Congress too has to hitch itself on to the BJP if it projects itself as an alternative to the Congress and the Left in West Bengal.