With Rajbhar SBSP, Paswan’s LJP, Manjhi’s HAM, Ajit Pawar’s NCP in NDA Fold, BJP’s ‘Dil Maange More’

Ahead of the crucial National Democratic Alliance (NDA) meeting on July 18, Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) joined the NDA on Sunday in Delhi in the presence of Union home minister Amit Shah. In terms of the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections, this gives the BJP-led alliance a psychological advantage over the UPA, which is battling a rebel Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and inter-party frictions. But not just Om Prakash Rajbhar, this could open up the gate for a much refurbished, bulkier NDA, which will help the BJP flex its political muscle on one hand and pass legislation with greater ease at Parliament on the other. Here’s a look at who has recently joined the NDA, and who else could be the new entrant and what that means.

Om Prakash Rajbhar’s SBSP

Rajbhar formally joining the NDA, in the presence of home minister Amit Shah, who said it will “help NDA in Uttar Pradesh” and the work done by the Modi government for “poor and deprived” will get a renewed push. But this is not the first time Rajbhar joined the NDA. SBSP was in alliance with the NDA in 2017, but it separated owing to differences. Rajbhars are a backward caste who have influence in as many as 20 Assembly seats of Uttar Pradesh. In Lok Sabha, every seat in UP becomes crucial. Rajbhar’s can help NDA in districts such as Ghazipur, Ballia, Mau among others.

Chirag Paswan’s LJP (R)

Amid a strong buzz of Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), leader and son of Ram Vilas Paswan, Chirag, returning to the NDA fold, BJP president JP Nadda has invited him to attend the meeting in Delhi on July 18. Paswan Junior quit the NDA fold in 2020 in Bihar to fight against Nitish Kumar. At that time, Kumar was an ally of the BJP. Though his party has not taken a formal decision yet, his party has consistently supported the Modi government on various policy issues. If he joins, he will also bring back the legacy of Ram Vilas Paswan, a tall Paswan leader. Paswans are known as a Dalit community of Eastern India that is primarily found in Bihar, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh.

Jitan Ram Manjhi’s HAM

This June, Hindustani Awam Morcha Secular (HAM-S) joined the BJP-led NDA. This preceded founder Manjhi and party president Santosh Kumar Suman’s meeting with Shah in New Delhi. Just before his move, former Bihar chief minister withdrew support from Nitish Kumar’s government. Kumar’s suggestion to merge Manjhi’s party with his JD-U was unacceptable to Manjhi, and hence he made the move. He is a Dalit from the Musahar community. They are one of the most marginalised castes in India. The Musahar are found throughout eastern Uttar Pradesh, southern Nepal, and Bihar, and are employed in Bihar’s stone quarries.

With Manjhi on their side, NDA can claim to represent them, politically.

Ajit Pawar’s NCP

The latest high-profile entrant joining the NDA is the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), a political outfit founded by Sharad Pawar. In a surprise rebellion and coup of sorts, his nephew Ajit Pawar walked out with a barrage of legislators and joined the Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnvis government in Maharashtra. By that very act of becoming a Deputy Chief Minister of a BJP-led alliance government, Pawar Junior made NCP a part of the NDA. It will have a direct bearing in the Pune district and Western Maharashtra region. The NCP wins the largest share of seats from where that area. Pune, Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur, and Solapur – form the sugar belt of Maharashtra where the NCP has unparalleled dominance. With NCP on its side — at least the majority of legislators on its side — the NDA can think of bettering its national tally, come 2024.

Though a year old by now, Shinde’s Shiv Sena, who formed the government in Maharashtra with the BJP, by staging a coup with Udhav Thackeray, exactly a year ago, is also a part of the NDA.

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), which is weakened particularly after the death of patriarch Parkash Singh Badal, too has been reached out to by the BJP. The party quit NDA in 2020 after three contentious farm bills. Prime Minister Narendra Modi may have visited SAD’s party office in Chandigarh to pay his last respects to Badal, but sources say the move was not lost on the Badals. However, it is still pre-mature to say anything about SAD joining back the NDA, the sources added.

However, with the caste-based parties in its kitty, the BJP-led NDA wants to make a point — ‘ye dil maange more’.