The BJP is set to contest the April-May elections with the support of 29 allies, revealing its dependence on partners despite projecting the upcoming battle as one between Narendra Modi and a bunch of Opposition parties out to oust a “strong and decisive” leader.
The party had fought the 2014 elections with 16 allies.
The BJP has been pitching the 2019 fight as a “Modi versus all” face-off, but the leadership has gone about carefully stitching alliances in all key states, taking into account that the Prime Minister alone might not be enough to propel it back to power.
The latest attempt to accommodate an ally came days before Sunday’s announcement of the poll dates. It clinched a deal with the All Jharkhand Student’s Union, deciding to leave out one Lok Sabha seat for the regional outfit and contest the remaining 13 in the state. The AJSU had not tied up with any party in 2014.
In Uttar Pradesh, hours before the model code of conduct for the polls kicked in, the Yogi Adityanath government announced the names of top office bearers in various commissions, councils and corporations, deferring to the demands of two allies, the Apna Dal and the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party.
The BJP had won 73 of the heartland’s 80 seats in 2014 but has to overcome the combined strength of the BSP, Samajwadi Party and the RLD this time.
In Maharashtra, where the united Opposition poses a challenge, the BJP swallowed a bitter pill to clinch a seat-share deal with its oldest, but belligerent, ally Shiv Sena. The BJP would contest 25 of the state’s 48 seats, leaving the rest for the Sena, apart from equally splitting the Assembly seats for the state polls later this year.
“Despite Modiji’s popularity, we are not taking any chances. Our target is to make 2019 a bigger victory than 2014,” a BJP leader said.
In Bihar, the BJP has decided to give up five seats it had won to accommodate the wishes of JDU chief Nitish Kumar and promised to send Ram Vilas Paswan, who heads the Lok Janshakti Party, to the Rajya Sabha.
“Accommodating the allies is not a reflection of our weakness but shows our pragmatism,” another BJP leader said. “For the larger goal, the party has to make these sacrifices.
The BJP is also banking heavily on the active support of its ideological parent, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
Party chief Amit Shah attended a three-day meeting of the RSS in Gwalior on Saturday and is learnt to have asked the Sangh leadership to mobilise their cadres to ensure that BJP voters come out in large numbers.
“We will work for creating awareness to ensure 100 per cent voting. Our society has started thinking more clearly over the period of time and the common people know who works for the betterment of the nation,” RSS general secretary Bhaiyyaji Joshi said on Sunday, asked about the role the Sangh would play in the general election.”