Who are BJP’s allies in NDA? What are the chances of them switching sides?

The BJP’s performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls has shone the spotlight on the National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) allies.

The NDA has garnered 292 seats – well ahead of the 272-mark needed to form the government – with the BJP itself getting 240 seats.

While the BJP remains the country’s single-largest party by a comfortable distance, its performance is down from 2019 and 2014 when it captured 303 seats and 282 seats respectively.

It is also unable to form the government on its own strength – a first when it comes to this version of the NDA.

Meanwhile, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Janata Dal United (JDU) – the BJP’s allies in the NDA – have racked up 16 and 12 Lok Sabha seats respectively.

The  Lok Janshakti Party has won five seats, while the Eknath Shinde Shiv Sena has netted seven seats.

The Rashtriya Lok Dal, the Janata Dal (Secular) and the Jana Sena Party won two Lok Sabha seats each, while the Ajit Pawar-led NCP netted one seat.

But who are the NDA allies? What do we know about their track record?

Let’s take a closer look:

TDP

The TDP is helmed by Chandrababu Naidu.

Naidu, a three-time chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, was known as the CM CEO.

The party was founded by Naidu’s father-in-law NT Rama Rao – a legend of Telugu cinema.

Naidu began his career as a Congress worker and was a confidant of then prime minister Indira Gandhi’s son Rajiv before jumping ship to the TDP.

He took over the party in 1995 – the same year that he became chief minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh – and in 1996 joined the NDA.

Naidu would be Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s ‘Man Friday’ from 1999 to 2003 and would play a vital role in helping that iteration of the NDA form a government at the Centre.

By 2019, Naidu had served as Andhra Pradesh’s chief minister two more times.

In his third term, Naidu wanted to make Amaravati the capital of Andhra Pradesh.

Naidu’s TDP left the BJP-led NDA prior to the 2019 polls.

However, the jump to the UPA proved to be a mistake as the polls saw the Jagan Mohan Reddy-led YSRCP wipe out the TDP.

The YSRCP won a massive 151 of 175 Assembly seats including key constituencies such as Kadapa, Kurnool, Nellore, and Vizianagaram.

The TDP, meanwhile, won only 23 Assembly seats and just three Lok Sabha seats.

Naidu’s TDP tied-up with the NDA yet again prior to the 2024 polls – which took much convincing on his part.

Now, with the TDP having won 16 seats and dominated the Assembly polls, Naidu is set to play kingmaker.

Little wonder there are reports of the leaders of the INDI alliance ringing up Naidu and making him offers to switch camps.

JDU

The JD(U) is led by Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar.

The party netted 12 seats in the Lok Sabha polls.

Kumar, a political veteran, has earned the nickname ‘paltu Ram’ for his propensity for switching camps.

In 2013, Nitish called off a 17-year alliance with the BJP to link up with the RJD.

In 2017, Nitish left the Mahagathbandan for the NDA.

Though he contested the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and 2020 Assembly polls with the BJP, in 2022 he dumped the BJP yet again for the Mahagathbandhan.

Nitish then once again dumped the grand alliance for the NDA ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

With his dozen seats, Nitish is set to play kingmaker yet again.

Shiv Sena

The Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena won seven seats in the Lok Sabha this time.

In 2022, Shinde along with several MLAs rebelled against the then Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray.

This split in the Shiv Sena also led to the demise of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) comprising the NCP and the Congress.

Both factions of the Shiv Sena went at it to determine who would be recognised as the “real” Shiv Sena.

The Election Commission in a blow to Uddhav wound up giving that status and the party symbol to the Shinde faction.

The Shinde-led Shiv Sena tied up with the BJP and the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) to form the Mahayuti government in Maharashtra.

The voters in the Lok Sabha polls seemed to punish the Shinde government for aligning with the BJP.

Which is why the upcoming Assembly polls in October, which may make or break the alliance, will be closely watched.

NCP

The Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party has bagged a single Lok Sabha seat in Maharashtra.

Ajit and eight MLAs in July 2023 joined the Eknath Shinde government – thus splitting the NCP.

Ajit’s faction too received the party name and the ‘clock’ symbol, while Sharad Pawar’s outfit is now called NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar).

Ajit’s move to field his wife Sunetra Pawar against his estranged cousin and NCP (SP) nominee Supriya Sule from Baramati seems to have gone against him with voters choosing Sule.

It remains to be seen how Ajit’s NCP fares in the October polls.

LJP

The LJP was founded by Ram Vilas Paswan.

Paswan is yet another leader known for defecting from one side to the other.

Paswan, like Naidu, joined the NDA when Vajpayee was helming the alliance.

The LJP left the alliance and rejoined it prior to the 2014 polls.

The LJP in 2020 left the NDA in Bihar ahead of Assembly polls over “ideological differences” with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

The party helmed by his son Chirag Paswan has won five seats in the Lok Sabha polls.

It remains to be seen if Chirag can leverage his position.

RLD

The RLD is helmed by Jayant Chowdhury.

It has won two Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh.

The party tied up with the NDA after its founder and patriarch Charan Singh was awarded the Bharat Ratna.

JDS

The Janata Dal (Secular) won two Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka.

The party headed by HD Deve Gowda joined the NDA in September 2023.

While the party has long been a strong third in Karnataka, it has suffered a decline in recent times.

JSP

The JSP won two Lok Sabha seats and 21 MLA seats in Andhra Pradesh.

The JSP is headed by Pawan Kalyan – the younger brother of actor Chiranjeevi— who founded the party in 2014.

As per New Indian Express, Kalyan tied up with the TDP and BJP and fought polls in 2019.

However, Kalyan in 2016 decided to go it alone for the 2019 polls.

That proved to be a mistake as Kalyan lost two constituencies and his party nabbed just one seat.

Kalyan in 2024 has been elected to office for the first time.

With inputs from agencies