64 Parties Attend BJP & Oppn Meet. But These Parties Absent: What Will be Their Next Move?

In a show of strength, both the opposition led alliance and the BJP-led NDA held rival meetings on Tuesday to flaunt their support and preparedness for the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha Elections.

Setting the tone for the Lok Sabha poll campaign, a coalition of 26 opposition parties gathered in Bengaluru and formed an alliance-‘INDIA’ or Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance to take on the BJP in the 2024 General Elections.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge chaired the closed-door meeting and was flanked by Sonia Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee and Rahul Gandhi to his right and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to his left.

This is the second such meeting of the opposition parties after a first meeting was held in Patna last month where 16 parties with 32 prominent leaders-including Rahul Gandhi, Arvind Kejriwal, Sharad Pawar, Mamata Banerjee and MK Stalin had gathered.

In the latest meeting, opposition parties including Congress, TMC, DMK, Aam Aadmi Party, NCP, Shiv Sena, SP, RLD, PDP, CPI, CPI(M) and others participated. On the other hand, 38 parties including BJP’s small partners in the Northeast, came together under the NDA.

However, many regional parties from Andhra, Telangana, Odisha and other states gave a miss to the opposition meeting. The parties like TRS or YSRCP, with fewer seats but considerable clout, matter both for the opposition and the NDA with the Lok Sabha elections slated to be held next year.

Here is a list of some regional parties that skipped the opposition meet but have a significance for both the ruling and the opposition camps in the General Elections:

Bahujan Samaj Party

The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has given a miss to both the opposition meetings in Patna and Bengaluru as the party has not been invited for the opposition meeting.

“We have invited those parties that are willing to fight against the BJP in 2024. BSP says it will not become part of alliance, then why should we waste our invitation,” JD(U) chief spokesperson K C Tyagi said last month ahead of meeting in Patna.

Mayawati has however attacked the opposition alliance and said it does not seem from their attitude that they are serious about their objective in Uttar Pradesh. She further called the meeting “more about joining of hands than hearts.”

Janata Dal (Secular)

The Karnataka-base JD(S), headed by political figure HD Deve Gowda, recently contested elections in Karnataka against the Congress. The party has previously been part of alliances with the Congress and BJP.

The political circles are abuzz with speculations about a potential alliance between the JD(S) and BJP. Deve Gowda has signalled its openness to explore alliance with the BJP after the party was defeated by the Congress in Karnataka.

However, the party was not part of the BJP led meeting in New Delhi on Tuesday.

Former Karnataka CM and JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy has indicated that it was too premature to decide who the party would ally with. JD(S) may ultimately go with the party that has the best chance of winning the elections, sources said.

Shiromani Akali Dal

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), an old ally of the BJP, broke hands with the saffron party in September 2020 over the three controversial farm acts which were brought and later repelled Modi government.

However, the SAD has not decided to be part of the opposition meet as two of its rivals in Punjab- the Congress and AAP are part of the I.N.D.I.A alliance. The party has ruled out the possibility of an alliance with the BJP for the 2024 Lok Sabha election.

SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal has said that the question of the party allying with the BJP did not arise and added that his party had a tie-up with the BSP, and the alliance with Mayawati’s party would continue.

Biju Janata Dal

The BJD has maintained a distance from the Opposition meeting as the party, ruling in Odisha for 25 years, has made a close relationship with BJP. However, the BJP recently announced that the party will take on the BJP in the monsoon session of Parliament.

The party earlier rejected the opposition call for to boycott the inauguration of the new Parliament building on May 28. It has also stood with the NDA on other matters like demonetisation, surgical strike and abrogation of Article 370.

Bharat Rashtra Samithi

Bharat Rashtra Samithi, led by Telangana CM K Chandrashekar Rao, was absent from the opposition meeting as the Congress is its principal rival in the poll-bound state. Telangana heads to elections this year and the ruling party will fight against both the BJP and the Congress.

The BJP has been trying hard to enter the state while the Congress is pitching as the alternative to the party in the state. However, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has urged his party colleagues to set aside their personal differences and work together with the BRS as a team.

The K Chandrashekar Rao-led BRS, had secured an absolute majority in the previous Assembly polls in December 2018 and is now seeking to play a key role nationally.

AIMIM

AIMIM, who is in alliance with the BRS, said that they always shun both the BJP and the Congress. Speaking on the opposition meeting, AIMIM leader Syed Amin Jafri said, “We are against both the Congress and the BJP. The BJP practices hardcore Hindutva ideology while the Congress has come to be identified with soft Hindutva.”

AIMIM, led by Asaduddin Owaisi, has fought elections in Maharashtra, Bihar and UP against both the BJP and the Congress. AIMIM leader Waris Pathan said that the “so-called” secular parties are treating AIMIM as “political untouchables”.

YSRCP and TDP

Both the ruling party and the primary opposition in Andhra Pradesh were not invited to the opposition meet or the NDA-led meeting this week.

Andhra Pradesh CM and YSRCP leader YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has maintained distance from the BJP at the state level, but remains cordial with the saffron party at the Centre. Jagan Mohan Reddy parted with the Congress after it refused to give him the CM post following the death of his father and former CM Y S Rajashekara Reddy. CM Jagan has maintained a distance from both the BJP and the Congress.

Meanwhile, Andhra opposition leader N Chandrababu Naidu was also not part of the opposition meet. The ruling YSRCP has alleged that Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief Naidu is trying to get into an alliance with the BJP.

There are speculations over alliance between TDP and BJP for the assembly elections. However, it is not clear if Naidu, who challenged the BJP in 2019 by forming a third front, would go with either the Congress or the BJP.