For now, other allies behind Modi govt but LJP asks BJP to introspect

The Shiv Sena, which has been a bit of a headache to the BJP, was not ready to take sides with the two Andhra parties — TDP and YSR Congress Party — which are both pressing no-confidence motions.

“The BJP should introspect why are allies upset or are quitting the alliance. Even the results of the bypolls are indicative of this,” said LJP MP Mehboob Ali Kaiser (In picture: LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan)

As the TDP pulled out of the NDA Friday and decided to move its own no-confidence motion in Lok Sabha against the Modi government, the spotlight turned on the other allies of BJP. And from their first remarks, it appeared that they were rallying behind the BJP. Except the Lok Janshakti Party whose one MP asked the BJP to “introspect why are allies upset or are quitting the alliance”.

The Shiv Sena, which has been a bit of a headache to the BJP, was not ready to take sides with the two Andhra parties — TDP and YSR Congress Party — which are both pressing no-confidence motions. “No one spoke to us, nor have we spoken to anyone,” Shiv Sena parliamentary party leader Sanjay Raut told The Indian Express. Asked if Sena president Uddhav Thackeray had spoken to TDP leader N Chandrababu Naidu, Raut said, “As of now, no”. The Shiv Sena, sources said, considered the no-trust motions “a non-serious move”, a result of “upmanship” between TDP and YSR Congress Party over Andhra politics. How could something as important as a no-trust motion be brought in without prior consultation with other parties, Sena sources asked.

Also read | TDP quits NDA: Should BJP worry about the new arithmetic? Well, not exactly

Story continues below this ad

Janata Dal (United) secretary general K C Tyagi said: “We are very firmly with the BJP-led government. There is no question of going back on our support to it.” On the TDP demand for grant of special category status to Andhra Pradesh, Tyagi said: “Bihar had made a similar demand, but the 14th Finance Commission ruled out any such concession to a state other than the hill states”.

TDP pulls out from NDA, moves no-confidence motion in Lok Sabha

Members of the Telugu Desam Party demand special category status for Andhra Pradesh outside Parliament on Friday (Express Photo/Praveen Jain)

The SAD too rallied behind the Modi government. Union Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur told reporters: “The Akali Dal is one of the oldest allies of the BJP. We were together and we are together. We have weathered many a storm in the past and we will weather this one too.”

Read | Opposition by Chandrababu Naidu’s side, flays Modi govt for ‘betrayal’

However, Mehboob Ali Kaiser, LJP MP from Khagaria in Bihar, said: “The BJP should introspect why are allies upset or are quitting the alliance. Even the results of the bypolls are indicative of this. The onus for taking all alliance partners together is on the biggest party, especially in the current situation when there has been an electoral setback in UP.”

Story continues below this ad

Haribansh Singh, Apna Dal MP from Pratapgarh in Uttar Pradesh, said he hoped the TDP would return to the NDA. “They should not take a decision in haste. We will keep working under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Centre does not have the resources to meet all demands of one state. It has to take care of the whole country, and not just Andhra Pradesh. There are many states demanding special status.”

Lalmani Verma

Lalmani is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express, and is based in New Delhi. He covers politics of the Hindi Heartland, tracking BJP, Samajwadi Party, BSP, RLD and other parties based in UP, Bihar and Uttarakhand. Covered the Lok Sabha elections of 2014, 2019 and 2024; Assembly polls of 2012, 2017 and 2022 in UP along with government affairs in UP and Uttarakhand. ... Read More

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram