Soon after the alliance between the Telugu Desam Party and Bharatiya Janata Party was announced in April, TDP leader CM Ramesh Naidu declared, “NaMo in Andhra Pradesh stands for Naidu and Modi.” His statement was more than a wisecrack. It reflected the TDP’s desire to see its president N Chandrababu Naidu being accorded the same stature as the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate, at least in Andhra Pradesh.
Traditionally, in states like Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, where regional parties hold sway and the BJP has a marginal presence, it is the local partner that plays the lead role.
For instance, in 1999, when the BJP forged alliances with the TDP in Andhra Pradesh and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in Tamil Nadu, BJP leader Atal Behari Vajpayee made sure that he had nurtured his regional allies like M Karunanidhi and Naidu. He realised that for coalitions to be healthy, national leaders have to publicly acknowledge the power of their regional partners.
Even the Congress, which has larger presence than the BJP in Tamil Nadu, let its former ally Karunanidhi take lead role in the state.
However, in these elections, the BJP seems to be vehemently pushing Modi as the tallest figure and wants regional leaders to play a supporting role for him. “It does not want Modi to be even perceived as the leader who is reaching out and forming alliances,” noted journalist Sanjeev Singh. “It fears giving in to allies or bargaining with them would result in a dilution of Modi’s claim to be strong leader.”
However, the BJP’s regional allies are finding it difficult to accept this secondary position in the equation. Even though the TDP is facing a tough battle against YSR Congress chief Jaganmohan Reddy for the 25 Seemandhra assembly seats and was desperate to augment its strength through an alliance with the BJP, Naidu is believed to be upset with the way he has been treated.
Last week, differences over seat sharing between the partners led to the TDP threatening to walk out of the alliance. Despite knowing that it would anger Naidu, BJP failed to consult the TDP chief before announcing its list of candidates. It is a tradition for allies to discuss candidates, giving regional parties the opportunity to suggest their preferences in terms of caste profile of candidates fielded by their smaller partners.
“In this case, the BJP slighted the TDP chief by deciding on its list unilaterally and this was unacceptable,” said a TDP candidate on condition of anonymity,
The issue was resolved after BJP leader Prakash Javdekar met Naidu and discussed candidates and seats. In the end, the BJP was also forced to give back to the TDP one of the 14 assembly seats that was allotted to it.
But it is interesting to note that Modi neither made any statements nor was in direct touch with Naidu to sort out the problem. Despite being the prime ministerial candidate, he has not been in direct touch with most allies. Even top BJP leaders like Rajnath Singh and Arun Jaitely are not engaging directly with the party’s allies. It has been left to leaders like Javdekar, who is much lower in the party hierarchy, to engage in trouble shooting.
“There is a strong section in the party that wants the impression to be clear that the BJP is contesting these polls on its own steam and Modi is their key, not the allies,” said one BJP observer in Delhi.
Author Jyotirmaya Sharma, an expert on Hindutva politics, told Scroll.in that this apparent lack of engagement should not be dismissed as a sign of Modi’s inability to deal with partners. “The BJP’s strategy must be seen as that of a confident party, which wants to win as much as possible on its own and once it has the numbers allies will come to it,” he said.
However, its tactics have left many allies unhappy. In addition to Naidu, one of its partners in Tamil Nadu is also upset. The Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam, headed by the actor-turned-politician Vijayakanth, is dissatisfied with the BJP’s decision to focus only on Modi’s image. “We agree that Modi is important, but people here know Vijayakanth better than they know Modi,” said a DMDK candidate on condition of anonymity.
In fact, Vijayakanth himself is believed to have expressed displeasure to the BJP leadership and wants his party to be treated as an equal in Modi’s campaign speeches.
But, at the moment, the BJP has refused to compromise. While this is clearly part of a pre-poll strategy, it isn't certain whether this will work after the results are in. In the event that the BJP falls short of an absolute majority, as it seems quite likely to do, it will have to learn to give greater space to regional leaders like Naidu.
In the last three Lok Sabha elections, both the BJP and Congress have had to rely on regional parties to form the government. Modi’s ability as an alliance manager is yet to be tested. In the end, his ability to negotiate with allies could be the biggest test he has to face.
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Traditionally, in states like Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, where regional parties hold sway and the BJP has a marginal presence, it is the local partner that plays the lead role.
For instance, in 1999, when the BJP forged alliances with the TDP in Andhra Pradesh and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in Tamil Nadu, BJP leader Atal Behari Vajpayee made sure that he had nurtured his regional allies like M Karunanidhi and Naidu. He realised that for coalitions to be healthy, national leaders have to publicly acknowledge the power of their regional partners.
Even the Congress, which has larger presence than the BJP in Tamil Nadu, let its former ally Karunanidhi take lead role in the state.
However, in these elections, the BJP seems to be vehemently pushing Modi as the tallest figure and wants regional leaders to play a supporting role for him. “It does not want Modi to be even perceived as the leader who is reaching out and forming alliances,” noted journalist Sanjeev Singh. “It fears giving in to allies or bargaining with them would result in a dilution of Modi’s claim to be strong leader.”
However, the BJP’s regional allies are finding it difficult to accept this secondary position in the equation. Even though the TDP is facing a tough battle against YSR Congress chief Jaganmohan Reddy for the 25 Seemandhra assembly seats and was desperate to augment its strength through an alliance with the BJP, Naidu is believed to be upset with the way he has been treated.
Last week, differences over seat sharing between the partners led to the TDP threatening to walk out of the alliance. Despite knowing that it would anger Naidu, BJP failed to consult the TDP chief before announcing its list of candidates. It is a tradition for allies to discuss candidates, giving regional parties the opportunity to suggest their preferences in terms of caste profile of candidates fielded by their smaller partners.
“In this case, the BJP slighted the TDP chief by deciding on its list unilaterally and this was unacceptable,” said a TDP candidate on condition of anonymity,
The issue was resolved after BJP leader Prakash Javdekar met Naidu and discussed candidates and seats. In the end, the BJP was also forced to give back to the TDP one of the 14 assembly seats that was allotted to it.
But it is interesting to note that Modi neither made any statements nor was in direct touch with Naidu to sort out the problem. Despite being the prime ministerial candidate, he has not been in direct touch with most allies. Even top BJP leaders like Rajnath Singh and Arun Jaitely are not engaging directly with the party’s allies. It has been left to leaders like Javdekar, who is much lower in the party hierarchy, to engage in trouble shooting.
“There is a strong section in the party that wants the impression to be clear that the BJP is contesting these polls on its own steam and Modi is their key, not the allies,” said one BJP observer in Delhi.
Author Jyotirmaya Sharma, an expert on Hindutva politics, told Scroll.in that this apparent lack of engagement should not be dismissed as a sign of Modi’s inability to deal with partners. “The BJP’s strategy must be seen as that of a confident party, which wants to win as much as possible on its own and once it has the numbers allies will come to it,” he said.
However, its tactics have left many allies unhappy. In addition to Naidu, one of its partners in Tamil Nadu is also upset. The Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam, headed by the actor-turned-politician Vijayakanth, is dissatisfied with the BJP’s decision to focus only on Modi’s image. “We agree that Modi is important, but people here know Vijayakanth better than they know Modi,” said a DMDK candidate on condition of anonymity.
In fact, Vijayakanth himself is believed to have expressed displeasure to the BJP leadership and wants his party to be treated as an equal in Modi’s campaign speeches.
But, at the moment, the BJP has refused to compromise. While this is clearly part of a pre-poll strategy, it isn't certain whether this will work after the results are in. In the event that the BJP falls short of an absolute majority, as it seems quite likely to do, it will have to learn to give greater space to regional leaders like Naidu.
In the last three Lok Sabha elections, both the BJP and Congress have had to rely on regional parties to form the government. Modi’s ability as an alliance manager is yet to be tested. In the end, his ability to negotiate with allies could be the biggest test he has to face.