News Mania / Piyal Chatterjee / 17th October 2024
The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will meet with all of the coalition’s chief ministers and deputy chief ministers in Chandigarh on Thursday, right after Nayab Singh Saini takes the oath of office as the state’s second chief minister, in an effort to maintain pressure on the opposition following the BJP’s stunning victory in Haryana. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will preside over the meeting, which is being held in front of the Maharashtra and Jharkhand Assembly elections. BJP President JP Nadda, Home Minister Amit Shah, and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will also be there.
One noteworthy item on the agenda is the “year of 50th anniversary of the attempt to murder democracy” (a reference to the Emergency), which is perceived as being specifically directed at the Congress and the opposition INDIA coalition. Other items include India’s progress and the celebration of the Constitution. The chief ministers of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Sikkim, Nagaland, and Meghalaya, who are members of other NDA parties, will also be present at the demonstration of unity and strength. The BJP alone has 13 chief ministers and 16 deputy chief ministers. “Lead discussions” would also be held between Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, according to a BJP statement.
“Deliberations in this meeting will cover a structured agenda covering national development issues. It will also discuss subjects like the observance of Samvidhan Ka Amrut Mahotsav and the year of the 50th anniversary of the attempt to murder democracy,” the statement said.
The conference and Mr. Saini’s swearing-in ceremony will take place on Valmiki Jayanti, which is the anniversary of the Ramayan author Maharishi Valmiki’s birth. According to BJP sources, the date was deliberately picked to send a message to Scheduled Castes, whose vote was said to have swung in favor of the INDIA alliance during the Lok Sabha elections, where the BJP was forced to settle for 240 seats after failing to secure a majority for the first time in a decade. With its focus on the Constitution and claim that the BJP wanted the NDA to have 400 MPs so it could “end reservations” and make modifications, the Congress improved its vote to 99, while the INDIA alliance as a whole received 234.
In Haryana, where the BJP lost five of the ten Lok Sabha seats following its 2019 landslide victory, the opposition’s strategy appeared to have worked as well. However, by the time the Assembly elections were held a few months later, the situation had altered. In addition to achieving a third consecutive victory, the BJP recorded its best-ever result in the state, defying exit poll forecasts and fighting projected anti-incumbency sentiment and ire.
