The BJP will host a meeting of the leaders of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) on Wednesday to mark the birth centenary of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, in an attempt to keep the allies in good humour.
The continued support of the allies is crucial to the BJP, which does not have a majority on its own in the Lok Sabha.
Despite the dependence on the allies, the BJP has so far managed to dominate the alliance. Party leaders said that with no formal NDA coordination committee, the meeting would be used to get the allies on board on key political issues.
The meeting assumes importance against the backdrop of the deepening confrontation with the Oppositionover the allegation that home minister Amit Shah hadinsulted B.R. Ambedkar,Dalit icon and the architect of the Constitution.
At Wednesday’s meeting, the BJP will try to get the allies to rally behind the party in taking on the united Opposition, sources said. The Opposition has been gunning for Shah’s scalp.
“After the meeting, the NDA leaders could jointly issue a statement to slam the Congress for running a fake campaign against Amit Shah. The plan is also to castigate the Congress and show the people how the party had repeatedly insulted Babasaheb Ambedkar,” a BJP leader said.
The BJP believes the Opposition’s “Constitution is in danger” campaign during the general election earlier this year had hurt the party. Many voters, especially the Dalits, harboured the fear that the Constitution would be changed to their disadvantage.
“We had taken the campaign lightly then, but not now. We want the NDA to unitedly counter this fresh campaign by the Opposition,” a BJP leader said.
The BJP has been going after the Congress aggressively to counter the allegation that the ruling party had insulted Ambedkar and wants the allies to join them.
“Why are the TDP and the JDU, which are part of the NDA, silent on the issue? If these parties talk of social justice, how can they remain silent on the insult to Ambedkar?” Congress spokesperson Supriya Srinate asked on Tuesday.
The meeting on Wednesday would take place at the residence of BJP president J.P. Nadda after a function to mark the birth centenary of Vajpayee. Vajpayee was the architect of the NDA and BJP leaders said that the event to mark his birth anniversary would send out the message that the party was commitment to thecoalition.
Other key issues, such as the waqf amendment bill and the One Nation, One Election bills could also be discussed at the meeting, BJP leaders said.