38 Parties To Attend NDA Meet On Tuesday, Nadda Calls It 'Positive Impact Of Modi Govt'

The meeting of the BJP-led NDA is scheduled to be held on a day several opposition parties are set to hold deliberations in Bengaluru.

New Delhi: Leaders of 38 parties have confirmed their participation in a meeting of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to be held in the national capital on Tuesday, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president JP Nadda said on Monday. Addressing a press conference, Nadda said that the NDA constituents are upbeat due to the 'positive impact' of the Narendra Modi government's schemes and policies.

"NDA's reach and scope have increased over the years," the BJP national president said.

The NDA meeting will see the presence of a host of existing and new BJP allies as the ruling party has worked overtime in recent weeks and months to seal fresh alliances and win back those who had quit the ruling combine. 

Parties such as AIADMK of Tamil Nadu and Pawan Kalyan's Jan Sena of Andhra Pradesh are among the other parties that will be present in the meeting, besides a number of them from northeast states and other parts of the country.

First such NDA meet of this scale during Modi govt's second term

It will be the first such NDA meeting of this scale during the second term of the Narendra Modi government, underscoring the imperative within the ruling party to project its credentials as a lead coalition partner in the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, expected to be held in April-May.

Regional parties, including those with a small but solid share of votes in a particular region or caste, can be crucial in swinging the balance in the polls in several seats in states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

With the BJP making all-out efforts to retain its majority in Lok Sabha for a third straight term, its leadership has made pragmatic adjustments to accommodate new allies while also working to weaken the opposition bloc in crucial states like Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh.

After losing a number of its traditional allies such as the Janata Dal (United), Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena faction, and Akali Dal, the BJP has succeeded in making alliances with Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, now recognized as the real party, the Ajit Pawar-led faction of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Om Prakash Rajbhar-led Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) in Uttar Pradesh and Jitan Ram Manjhi's Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) and Upendra Kushwala-led Rashtriya Lok Samta Party (RLSP).

NDA vs Opposition on Tuesday

The meeting of the NDA is scheduled to be held on a day several opposition parties are set to hold deliberations in Bengaluru to chalk out a joint strategy to take on the BJP unitedly in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

"United We Stand" is the slogan on posters that have dotted the streets of Bengaluru with pictures of opposition leaders, including Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee, NCP's Sharad Pawar, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal, DMK chief MK Stalin and leaders of Left and some regional outfits.

Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge arrived in the Karnataka capital on a special plane and were received at the airport by state chief minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy DK Shivakumar.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, along with RJD chief Lalu Prasad and Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav also reached later in the afternoon.

A warm welcome was also accorded in Bengaluru to other leaders like former chief ministers Akhilesh Yadav (Samajwadi Party), Farooq Abdullah (National Conference) and Mehbooba Mufti (People's Democratic Party), besides Sitaram Yechury (CPI-M), D Raja (CPI) and Jayant Chaudhary (RLD).

Meanwhile, the Congress on Monday asserted that the Opposition unity would be 'a game changer' for the Indian political scenario and took a swipe at the BJP, saying those who used to talk of defeating the opposition parties alone are now making attempts to breathe new life into the NDA which had become a "ghost".

Addressing a press conference on the two-day crucial deliberations of Opposition parties starting this evening, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has suddenly remembered the NDA.

"Attempts are being made to breathe new life into the NDA. There used to be no talk about NDA and suddenly, since the past few days, we are hearing and reading about it. Suddenly, it was reported that an NDA meeting has been called for tomorrow. So NDA, which had become a ghost, attempts are now being made to breathe a new life into it," Ramesh said.