Modi Led NDA In Power with A Stunning Opposition
By Dr. Ratan Bhattacharjee
The 73-year-old Narendra Modi now reliant on the NDA’s smaller parties is set to be India’s Prime Minister for a third time, after a debacle in the 2024 Loksabha election results which saw his majority slashed by a resurgent opposition.His own party fell short of the 272 needed to form the government.Mr Modi is likely to be sworn in for a record-equalling third term .Mr Modi and his Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 240 seats following the weeks-long, seven-stage election, making them the largest party in the Lok Sabha, But it is a significantly reduced number for the prime minister: in 2019, the BJP won 303 seats, and Mr Modi had said he was aiming for 370 seats this time round.Instead, they are now forced to rely on NDA partners to to form the government . It is true that the NDA MPs “unanimously” chose Modi as their leader.It is the first time Modi will govern in coalition without his party having an outright majority, and it is unclear what the next five years will look like.But one thing is clear that this new ‘Modification’ will bring more democracy and a healthy parliament, Already Modi is seen bowing to the Constitution and speaking of tolerance and good governance with respect to all religion and diverse opinion
According to the Congress “This is a mandate in defence of the Constitution of India and against price rise, unemployment, and crony capitalism and also to save democracy,” Indian election is the largest the world has ever seen. More 66% of the country’s eligible voters from the billion people who had registered to vote in total – about one in eight of the global population participated in the election.Voting was staggered over seven rounds between 19 April and 1 June for security and logistical reasons. Much of the election took place in extreme and deadly heat as temperatures in parts of India soared to nearly 50C. But voters responded to the EVM . Earlier the Opposition criticized the impartiality of the EVM and they even pursued the issue to the Supreme Court. Finally it is proved that the Election has been free and fair leaving aside a few sporadic incidents of violence in Bengal and other states.
Nehru was India’s first and longest-serving Prime Minister, who led the country from 1947 until he died in 1964 serving three terms at a stretch . . He was instrumental in modern India’s development, having started several major initiatives that included big businesses, dams, and the growth of science education. Indira Gandhi was an Indian politician who served as the third Prime Minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and again from 1980 until her assassination in 1984. Atal Bihari Vajpayee was an Indian politician and poet who served three terms as the 10th Prime Minister of India, first for a term of 13 days in 1996, then for a period of 13 months from 1998 to 1999, followed by a full term from 1999 Narendra Modi, who got re-elected as prime minister of India for the third consecutive time, was elected to the office for the first time in 2014.
This time it is not Modi government , nor is it going to be a BJP government. It is NDA government which means a coalition government and after being chosen Modi himself repeatedly spoke of NDA and praised the longevity of the Coalition .The debacle of BJP is described by Modi as ‘ Mahavijay’ for the coalition. Now every mind is having doubts about the success of coalition this time when BJP has to depend on two very unreliable partners like Chandrababu Naidu and Nitish Kumar who are already waiting with a long list of demands though in public they say that their support is unconditional. The first time that Independent India saw parties stitching up a coalition government at the Centre in 1977, right after the Emergency. Eleven parties, including the Bharatiya Jana Sangh — predecessor of the BJP — came together to form the Janata government. How Vajpayee managed Mamata Banerjee in his cabinet is a text-book example of coalition management..In 73 years of India’s electoral history, beginning 1951 when the first elections were held, the country has 32 years of coalition government. In contrast, it has seen 31 years of majoritarian government, including 10 years under Prime Minister Narendra Modi Modi Government or BJP Governerment are now a matter of the past. Now NDA government is poised to be in power with Narendra Modi to lead a coalition government. Modi said that in the last ten years till today Congress has not been able to cross the limit of 100 seats. Rahul Gandhi’s pada yatra yielded dividends . He looks more mature and he in spite of his historic win from two seats from UP and Karnataka is not in a position to get projected as Prime Minister. TMC does not want him to be the Prime Minister Abhishek Banerjee even after the INDIA bloc meeting after the election results tried to create a non-Congress coalition within the coalition by individually meeting leaders like Akhilesh Yadav Raghav Chadda and Uddhav Thakre. Rahul wanted to win . The country wanted him to win . But Rahul Gandhi failed to win. The opposition won a total of 232 seats out of 543. Though Congress doubled its strength from the last election it is still falling far short to pitch the demand for the formation of government. They are now waiting for the right moment which they feel will come in near future. Ashoke Baghel said that the Na Na Na government will fall in the next six months and interim poll will be held. Modi explained NDA as New India , Developed India and Aspirational India which the Opposition mocked as Nitish –Naidu India Alliance. . It is true that Opposition is more resilient and confident in the Lok Sabha and this will strengthen Indian Democracy But the big question is whether Rahul will be getting a chance for the post of Opposition leader . This is the big problem for the opposition which is not united till today. Most of these parties are alleged to be corrupted and legal charges are there against many of their main leaders. Some are surprised why TMC get the landslide victory in West Bengal . One basic reason is the Lakshmi Bhandar for the women and the muslim minority depended more on TMC for their security as Modi’s campaign beginning with Jai Sri Ram slogan affected his credibility as a Hindu moshiha . There are other issues like the 100 Days Abash Yojana fund unreleased by the Centre and TMC from their own fund provided money to the bank account of the poor. In UP also the Dalit votes and Muslim votes slashed the Modi Guarantee. In Faisabad District where the Ram Temple was built , BJP candidate was defeated. Jai Sri Ram Slogan is now forgotten by Modi. He is now shouting Jai Jagannath more than Jai Sri Ram. He is now the leader of NDA , NDA leader of the Sansad and the leader for the PM post. But still there is some uncertainty. Farmer leader Charan Singh then became the Prime Minister with the support of Indira Gandhi’s Congress. However, Indira pulled the rug from under Charan Singh’s feet just after 23 days. Such is the risk of running a coalition government.Indira Gandhi returned to power in 1980, and remained India’s Prime Minister till her assassination in 1983.
The historic mandate under Rajiv Gandhi that the Congress received would be the pinnacle for the Congress. The party’s seats just went downhill from there. Earlier Lok Sabha election saw BJP winning 315 seats. But this time ,the NDA has returned to power for a historic third straight term at the Centre, but the BJP itself has fallen short of the majority mark of 272. That implies Modi and his BJP will have to continue with an uncertainty and cannot take any decision so easily or pass a bill too without consulting the coalition partners who are nearly opposite to their political philosophy on various issues. Already there is a big question raised for reviewing Agnipath and Agniveer projects. The demand for giving special status for AP and Bihar has been lodged. Other states will not sit silent when Modi himself said that he will remember his liability as a leader to all states of Bharat and the Constitution . Since 1991, when India was forced to open up its economy and give up on the planned economy model, all governments were coalitions of the sort where even the lead party was quite far from the majority mark of 272. This obvious weakness of the leading party — be it the Congress or the BJP or the so-called third front — meant that India always had “a strong consensus for weak reforms”.For a decade Narendra Modi has driven India’s economy with force, making it the fastest growing among the major economies and well on its way to become the world’s third largest. This has happened on the back of reforms as well as policy dynamism. The pre-poll coalition is considered advantageous as it provides a common platform for all parties to woo the electorate on the basis of a joint manifesto. A post-election union is intended to enable constituents to share political power and run the government.Here both NDA and INDIA blocs are pre- poll coalitions though TMC fought the poll all alone and till today they are trying to avoid Congress for emerging as the real Congress from which they are born. These kind of attempts will make the Opposition fractured and NDA will get a mileage .
Dr.Ratan Bhattacharjee is Affiliate Faculty Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond USA. Email bhattacharjr@vcu.edu
