Indian political scenario took a major turn on Tuesday when 26 opposition parties on their second meeting in Bengaluru declared their official alliance against the ruling National Democratic Alliance government for the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha Elections. The opposition parties have named their grouping Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance or INDIA.
NDA also held a meeting for coordination talks on Tuesday with 38 parties including small partners of the Bharatiya Janata Party who are yet to elect a representative for their respective state assemblies. Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured the allies that the NDA expects to get 50 per cent vote share to win the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Which parties decided to stay neutral?
The two groupings of major political parties in India gear up for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections with a total of 64 Indian parties and leave behind several other parties who are prominent in their states and currently do not agree with either of the two alliances. The list of neutral parties includes The Bahujan Samaj Party, Biju Janata Dal, Janata Dal (Secular), Akali Dal, Bharat Rashtra Samithi, Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party, Indian National Lok Dal, All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen, All India United Democratic Front.
Janata Dal (Secular)
The Karnataka-based JD(S) party has previously been in alliance with both Congress and BJP but in recent meetings, they were not found to be part of either of the two groupings. JD(S) formed a coalition government with BJP in 2006 to come to power in Karnataka and is a strong opposition against Congress in the state. Even though the party has support among Muslims, the recent state assembly election results weren't very promising for JD(S) as the majority of Muslim votes went to Congress. According to the reports they might join an alliance later with the party that has a better chance of winning.
Shiromani Akali Dal
SAD has publicly ruled out an alliance with either of the two groupings for their personal relationship with the parties. Reportedly they did not want to make their Punjab rival Aam Aadmi Party an alliance and thus decided not to join the Opposition meeting. On the other hand, their ties with the BJP were cut off in September 2020 over the farm law row making it an obstacle for them to join the NDA. The BJP has reportedly said that they will fight in all 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab alone. But Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa from SAD was present at the NDA meeting on Tuesday.
Bahujan Samaj Party
The BSP led by Mayawati has been critical of BJP and has never been part of the NDA before and has made it clear that they don't want to be a part of the opposition alliance either and thus reportedly did not get any invite.
Biju Janata Dal
BJD while ruling Odisha for the last 25 years has made a close relationship with BJP and made way for their policies along with sparing a Rajya Sabha seat that fielded Ashiwini Vaishnaw. BJD and BJP are rivals in the Odisha state assembly elections. According to party spokesperson Prasanna Acharya “Being a regional party, we have our own policies. Most of the time, our policies are guided by the interests of Odisha. In Parliament and outside, we extend issue-based support.”
Bharat Rashtra Samithi
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao or KCR-led BRS is the principal rival of Congress in Telangana and Rahul Gandhi earlier made a comment that they were BJP's 'B team'. On the other hand, KCR has criticised NDA-led government for several policies and accused it of undermining federalism while PM Modi has recently called out KCR for corruption and promoting his family.
BRS stands with their ambitions to become a national party and become an anti-BJP and anti-Congress option for the people.
Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy left the Congress party in 2020 after they refused to give him the CM seat post his father's death and has been rivals in state elections and on a national level making their way to Congress alliance almost impossible. YSR-CP and BJP are rivals in the state but the former has been in support of the policies laid by the NDA government yet they were not seen in the NDA meeting either.
Indian National Lok Dal
The INLD based in Haryana has been part of the NDA before and their offshoot Jannayak Janata Party was present in the NDA meeting yesterday. But they were not seen in either of the meetings, reportedly the party claims to create a BJP and Congress alternative in Haryana.
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen
The AIMIM led by Asaduddin Owaisi has been a Congress-ally earlier in Andhra Pradesh but after the bifurcation, they inclined towards the BRS. They have not been part of either of the alliances and Owaisi has been critical of both. National Spokesperson of the party Waris Pathan told the media that they were not invited to the opposition meeting and claimed, "They did not call us, we are political untouchables for them."
