CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said there was growing panic and sense of desperation in the BJP because of opposition parties uniting in major states and allies leaving the NDA.
In an article in the forthcoming edition of the Peoples Democracy, the mouthpiece of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), Yechury said a divided Opposition in 2014 ensured that the BJP could have its own majority in the Lok Sabha, despite 69 per cent of the electorate voting against the saffron party.
"But now with the state level understandings emerging in the major states that send a large number of MPs to the Lok Sabha, this possibility does not appear to work in 2019. This is the first reason for the panic that is growing in the BJP camp," Yechury said.
The CPI(M) leader said when Prime Minister Narendra Modi assumed office in 2014, there were 42 parties that supported the Bharatiya Janata Party and many joining the National Democratic Alliance. "But of those who were part of the NDA and who had MPs in the Lok Sabha many have now withdrawn their support to the BJP and exited the NDA."
Yechury pointed out to the exit of the Telugu Desam Party over special status to Andhra Pradesh and the Asom Gana Parishad over the controversial citizenship bill, as well as the desertion of the NDA by some parties in Bihar and moving towards an understanding with the Opposition.
He claimed that many of the BJP's smaller allies in Uttar Pradesh, including some of them who had shared cabinet positions, were seriously reconsidering their support to the BJP. "In Maharashtra the Shiv-Sena is displaying belligerent opposition to the BJP and we will have to wait and see what happens as the election draw closer."
"So, put together, what is seen is the coming together of the secular opposition forces as against the withering away of the NDA coalition. This is causing a sense of desperation in the BJP and the RSS," Yechury said.
The former Rajya Sabha MP questioned the alliances made by the BJP to form the government in 2014 and alleged that it was just to share the spoils of office that brought the Peoples Democratic Party and the BJP together in Jammu and Kashmir.
"What is the commonality between the Asom Gana Parishad and the BJP when the AGP has been waging a battle and its birth originates in this battle against 'foreigners' in Assam? What was the commonality between the TDP and the BJP when they fought against each other and continue to fight against each other earlier?
"What happened with the JD(U) in Bihar is well known; after defeating the BJP the betrayal of Nitish Kumar and the JD(U) rejoining the BJP, what are the principles involved in that?" he asked.
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