UCC, Manipur violence spell trouble for NDA ahead of Parliament session

The meeting of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) two days before the start of the Monsoon Session of the Parliament has brought to the fore growing problems within the ruling alliance over some key issues.

Even though 38 political parties from different parts of the country participated in the dinner meeting organised by the BJP for its NDA allies, nearly 10 political parties have openly announced their reservations on the implementation of the controversial Uniform Civil Code (UCC).

Allies from N-E upset

“There are two meetings of the NDA. The first is the dinner meeting of NDA allies, which is with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the second is the NDA meeting of the parliamentary parties of all allies. We will certainly raise two issues in the NDA meeting. The first issue is the unabated violence in Manipur, which is a grave cause of concern for all of us. The second issue is the implementation of UCC. We cannot allow it,” said a senior leader of the Naga People’s Front (NPF), a BJP ally.

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Senior leaders of the northeast have asked the BJP leadership to ensure that the ongoing violence is stopped immediately and there should be a debate in the Parliament on the violence in Manipur. “We are upset with the violence in Manipur and the Union government must initiate immediate measures to end the violence. There should be a debate in the Parliament. We would ideally want the prime minister to also take part in the debate. It will send a good message to the people of the northeast,” said a senior leader of the Mizo National Front (MNF).

The real challenge for the BJP in the northeast is to deal with its alliance partners, which have taken a stand against UCC and also against the violence in Manipur. Moreover, alliance partners like the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP), National People’s Party (NPP), and Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) have all spoken against the UCC. “The NDA meeting with the prime minister is a good opportunity to raise our concerns about UCC and violence in Manipur. We will talk to our allies in the BJP about these two issues and seek a guarantee that tribal people will be kept out of the UCC,” said a senior NPP leader.

Akali Dal, TDP stay away

The trouble in the NDA over UCC has ensured that some of the possible alliance partners who could have returned to its fold are now “officially” maintaining distance from it.

At the official dinner meeting called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday evening, two possible alliance partners, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), were missing from the list of invitees.

In the last couple of months, the BJP has tried to bring back its former alliance partner, N Chandrababu Naidu-led Telugu Desam Party (TDP). But so far, the efforts have not yielded results. The decision of the Law Commission to hold talks with stakeholders about the implementation of the UCC has spooked Naidu and other senior TDP leaders.

UCC keeps parties at bay

Soon after Naidu met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi on June 5, senior party leaders told him that any attempt by the TDP to join hands with the BJP amid a discussion over UCC will take away votes of minority as well as tribal community. TDP leaders are worried because Andhra Pradesh has nearly 10 per cent Muslims, 7 per cent tribals, and 1.5 per cent Christians, and collectively, these 18 per cent votes can be decisive in determining Lok Sabha and assembly poll results. “We have conveyed our apprehensions about losing minority and tribal community votes to the party leadership. However, there is a possibility that the TDP will support the BJP without formally joining the NDA,” said a senior TDP leader.

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To further add to the problems of the BJP, another former alliance partner who was willing to join hands with it, has decided to stay away from the ruling alliance because of the UCC. Senior leaders of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) are against the implementation of UCC as they believe that it will affect the customs and practises of the Sikh community. This is the second time a policy decision has affected ties between the BJP and the SAD. The differences first cropped up over three controversial farm laws, because of which SAD walked out of the NDA.

Bid to revive NDA

Political analysts believe the BJP is trying to revive and expand the NDA because it fears that these smaller parties will join hands with the Congress-led Opposition alliance.

“BJP is a huge political party and a huge political force, so it is difficult for them to form a coalition with prominent regional parties. Smaller parties cannot join hands with the BJP because they need the vote of minorities in the states,” said Ashutosh Kumar, professor at the department of political science, Punjab University, Chandigarh.

Kumar further said the BJP leadership would be concerned that smaller parties must not join the Opposition coalition because it will only strengthen the hands of the Congress and other rival regional parties.