India has delivered its verdict and it’s been surprising and historic. Surprising because no one had expected that the INDI Alliance would perform so well, bagging 234 seats, and in turn becoming a roadblock to BJP’s ‘400 paar’ campaign. The verdict is historic because despite winning lesser seats, the Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has won a third consecutive term.
However, this third term of the Modi Sarkar will be unlike its predecessors. Modi will enter his third term with a much-weaker mandate than initially anticipated and will be more dependent on alliance partners , the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the Janata Dal (United) (JD{U}). As analysts have said, Chandrababu Naidu and Nitish Kumar are kingmakers this election. And they may not think twice to review their support if they don’t agree with BJP on hot-button issues.
Neelanjan Sircar, a senior fellow at the Centre for Policy Research in New Delhi was quoted as telling CNBC: “We are in an unknown territory. We’ve never seen a Modi government have to act in a coalition. We know that the party has been engaged in decisive action, in centralisation. Can they adjust in the ways that a party needs to and a leader needs to when you’re leading a coalition?”
As the BJP and its allies huddle together for government formation, we take a closer look at some of the key BJP programmes and how they may be affected in the new government.
Uniform Civil Code
The BJP has been pushing for a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) for a while; it was one of the party’s main promises in its 2024 manifesto. In fact, the Uniform Civil Code has been a core agenda for the ruling party for years.
For many within the party, the UCC isn’t a populist measure, but “a modern approach to civil rights”. R Balashankar, former editor of RSS affiliate The Organiser, told the _Indian Expres_s: “For the BJP, it has been part of its core agenda from the Jana Sangh days. This is not for catching votes, nor is it a populist measure, but it is with the idea of integrating the country as one nation with one law, in civil matters like inheritance, marriage, women rights and sharing of family property… It’s a modern approach to civil rights.”
And in the past few years, one can see that the party has been gunning for it even harder, albeit at a state level. Just in February, the BJP-ruled Uttarakhand passed the Uniform Civil Code of Uttarakhand Act, 2024. Other BJP-ruled states have also vowed to look into the matter and pass similar laws.
But what about the BJP’s allies now? What is their stance on the UCC? Currently, the JD(U), led by Nitish Kumar has said that the party is not opposed to it. However, there should be consensus through dialogue with all stakeholders. In 2023, Nitish Kumar had asserted that “we must not impose any view without obtaining substantive consultations”.
In 2017 too, Kumar had written a letter to the Chairman of Law Commission rejecting the latter’s 16-point questionnaire sent to Bihar government on the UCC and had advised the Centre not to act in haste over the sensitive issue and debate over it.
On the other hand, the TDP hasn’t been a full supporter of the UCC. In 2023, Chandrababu Naidu had said that his party would stand with the Muslim community and would not take any decision that would act against their interests.
Thus, it would be interesting to see if the Modi Sarkar pushes their agenda or does it get moved to the backburner.
One Nation, One Poll
One of the key agendas of the BJP has been ‘ One Nation, One Poll ’. In fact, it has been cited as one of Modi’s favourite projects. In September last year, his government even set up a high-level committee , headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind, to examine and make recommendations on holding simultaneous elections in the country. And in March, the panel handed over a 18,626 page-long report on the same.
As per the report, the JD(U) had extended support to the idea of holding simultaneous elections at the state and central level. Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar had even thrown his weight behind the idea, citing the reduced financial burden, policy continuity and political stability and the logistical ease simultaneous elections would bring to the nation.
The TDP’s stance on the matter of ‘One Nation, One Poll’ is unclear as they did not submit their recommendations on the same to the Kovind-led panel.
Agnipath scheme
In 2022, the Narendra Modi government had introduced the Agnipath scheme , which provides for short-term induction of personnel into the Armed Forces. The Agniveers, as those inducted through this programme are called, are inducted for a four-year period. Following which, only 24 per cent are retained while the others are given a financial package when their tenure ends.
However, it seems that the JD(U) isn’t a fan of this scheme and has already called for a review of it. KC Tyagi, chief spokesperson of the JD(U) said there is resentment against the scheme in several states. “There is resentment, so we will seek a review of Agniveer. We are not opposing it,” he said.
Many poll pundits have claimed that resentment over the Agnipath scheme, especially in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan led to the BJP’s diminished numbers.
Even Chirag Paswan of the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) said that he is in favour of a review of the Agnipath scheme.
Temple run
The BJP had hoped that the Ram Mandir would have helped it consolidate its Hindu vote bank. However, the much-hyped inauguration of the temple failed to provide the saffron party with any big dividends. In fact, Faizabad , the constituency in which the temple lies, was won by the Samajwadi Party.
Experts note that now with a coalition government, the party would be forced to put on the backburner its contentious agenda on other disputed religious sites in Kashi and Mathura. As a News9Live report said that the allies such as the TDP and JD(U) would not support the BJP in making amendments to the Places of Worship Act, 1991 — a necessary step to realise the dream of temples at Mathura and Kashi, moving the Shahi Eidgah and Varanasi’s Gyanvapi mosque.
With inputs from agencies
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