The carrot came first. N. Chandrababu Naidu of the Telugu Desam Party and Nitish Kumar of the Janata Dal (United) pledged to bail out Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party that had fallen well short of the magic number to form a government on its own. The proverbial carrot, however, has been quickly followed by the stick. There are reports that behind the veil of bonhomie, hectic parleys are taking place between the BJP and its allies when it comes to the disbursal of ministries in the new government. Mr Naidu, it is believed, has made noises about some plum posts as well as a ‘special category status’ for Andhra Pradesh. Mindful of the BJP’s propensity to first befriend and then break allies — the TDP had lost four of its six Rajya Sabha members to the BJP in 2019 — Mr Naidu, there is speculation, may also demand a constitutional post that plays a crucial role when it comes to dealing with disqualification of defectors. Mr Kumar has a wish list too: he has his eyes on concessions for his state along with a review of the Agniveer scheme and a caste census: the BJP is expected to be particularly miffed about the last two. Dealing with wily allies who are masters in the game of give and take would prove to be a challenge for Mr Modi. This is because the prime minister has been accustomed to ruling with absolute majorities. The BJP’s poor record when it comes to the treatment of allies under Mr Modi’s watch could also turn out to be an impediment. Coalition politics runs on trust. Given the BJP’s penchant for crippling its allies — the Asom Gana Parishad and the Shiv Sena, among others, have been its victims — the possibility of a trust deficit in the alliance cannot be ruled out.

Yet, the return of coalition politics to the centre stage and the re-emergence of regional parties must not be dismissed. These can prove to be an effective check and balance on Mr Modi’s regime that has demonstrated unilateral and majoritarian impulses in the past. The federal edifice, which had almost crumbled on account of the Centre’s unwarranted aggression in the last decade, has a chance of being rebuilt. In that sense, the allies of the National Democratic Alliance have a dual role: they have to ensure that the BJP follows an inclusive template of governance while they themselves serve as the vanguard to protect India’s tattered social fabric.