5 takeaways from NDA mega meeting as ruling alliance looks forward to poll battles that await

Political centrality of NDA

The first takeaway of the mega meeting, a departure from traditional NDA floor leaders’ meetings, was the message that PM Modi, his party, and allies sought to send out: the NDA was united and was at the centre of “development activities” propelling the country forward.

PM Modi suggested that such NDA meetings be held twice a year, calling for greater interaction between NDA-ruled states, and between ministers and MLAs from these states who, he said, should connect with one another through social media. Modi suggested that NDA leaders have competitions among cities of NDA-ruled states as to which become the cleanest tourist destinations and have the cleanest hospitals and cleanest panchayats.

Three resolutions were passed to celebrate the 150th birth anniversaries of Birsa Munda and Sardar Patel, and the birth centenary of Atal Bihari Vajpayee next year, at the NDA meet. (Photo: Narendra Modi/ X)

Significantly, the BJP with 303 seats focused on the party instead of the alliance till June and began to talk about the consistency of the NDA after losing 63 seats in the Lok Sabha polls. After the Haryana victory, the NDA pitch continues but has acquired a triumphalist tone. Significantly, Eknath Shinde, Shiv Sena leader and CM of poll-bound Maharashtra, moved the resolution congratulating PM Modi on “NDA-BJP’s victory” in Haryana assembly elections, which was seconded by Nagaland CM Neiphiu Rio and Goa CM Pramod Sawant.

Targeting Congress on Emergency, Constitution

The second takeaway was the consistent attack on the Congress, with direct and indirect references to the Emergency of 1975-77.

PM Modi told the gathering that it was the largest gathering of non-Congress political parties since 1975, a reference to the year that marked the height of anti-Congressism, with the Opposition taking on Indira Gandhi and the latter imposing the Emergency. Union Home Minister Amit Shah moved a resolution to observe the year 2025 as “the 50th year of Murder of Democracy”, a direct reference to Emergency and an attack on the Congress in what was an NDA huddle just after the Haryana elections and not related to Emergency.

Keen on countering Opposition criticism in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls and afterwards that the Modi government wanted to change the Constitution, the meeting decided to celebrate 75 years of the making of the Constitution as “Samvidhan Ka Amrit Mahotsav”, and the resolution for the same was moved by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. The shift of a significant chunk of Dalit voters was a key reason why the BJP suffered a shock setback in Maharashtra in the Lok Sabha polls and getting them back will be crucial in next month’s Assembly polls.

Tacitly seeking to relate the abrogation of Article 370 with the “restoration” of the dignity of the Constitution, while at the same time attacking the Congress over Article 370, the PM said that “for the first time in the history of Jammu and Kashmir, swearing-in of the new government was conducted as per the provisions of Constitution of India”.

The message from farmers

Hailing the victory in Haryana as historic, PM Modi said the NDA did not just secure the support of all sections of society but also busted the false narratives of the Opposition that the NDA was “anti-farmer”. Farmers, he added, backed the BJP in Haryana. He thanked the people of the state for standing with the NDA and “good governance”, and rejecting the negative politics of the Opposition.

The alliance is likely to stick to this narrative as the electoral battle shifts to Maharashtra where agrarian distress is a major issue and farmers play a key role in determining the poll outcome in the crucial regions of Marathwada and Vidarbha.

‘NDA stands for development’

PM Modi said the NDA government was fulfilling the rising aspirations of the common citizens and “ensuring last-mile delivery, which has helped in building the trust in the public towards the government since 2014”. “Solution-centric governance with a focus on grievance redressal is a distinctive identity of all NDA state governments,” he added.

Modi said he had received 4.5 crore letters from people in the last 10 years as compared to five-lakh letters in 10 years of the UPA government, reflecting the “trust” people place in the NDA government. “Smooth governance, fast decision-making and transparency in governance have helped in attracting investors and investment to NDA states,” he said.

Political symbolism

Three resolutions were passed to celebrate the 150th birth anniversaries of Birsa Munda and Sardar Patel, and the birth centenary of Atal Bihari Vajpayee next year.

This was straight out of PM Modi’s tried and tested symbolic outreach to multiple political constituencies. Birsa Munda is an iconic figure among Adivasis, including in Jharkhand that goes to the polls in a month. Patel has been a consistent feature of the BJP’s symbolic outreach, with the tacit message that the Congress ignored its iconic leader and former Deputy Prime Minister. The choice of Vajpayee reaches out to the BJP’s core constituency.