New Delhi: Taking a swipe at the Opposition alliance, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that “although India has a long tradition of coalitions, those formed with negativity have never succeeded”.
“No party is big or small in NDA, BJP got majority in 2014 and 2019 but NDA formed government,” he said. Modi called the alliance a legacy of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L K Advani and thanked leaders like Parkash Singh Badal, Balasaheb Thackeray, Ajit Singh and Sharad Yadav for contributing to shaping NDA.
The Prime Minister hailed the BJP-led NDA alliance as a time-tested one and said that the bloc seeks to further national progress and fulfil regional aspirations. Leaders from 38 parties including Ekanth Shinde, K Palaniswami, Ramdas Athavale, and Chirag Paswan reached Delhi to attend the meeting.
The Opposition has put out names of 26 parties that are participating in the talks Tuesday while the NDA gathering will see the following names: AIADMK, Shiv Sena (Shinde), NPP (National People’s Party, Meghalaya), NDPP (Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party, Nagaland), SKM (Sikkim Krantikari Morcha), JJP (Jannayak Janata Party), AJSU (All Jharkhand Students’ Union), RPI (Republican Party of India), MNF (Mizo National Front), Tamil Maanila Congress, Indiya Makkal Kalvi Munnetra Kazhagam (IMKMK) from Tamil Nadu, IPFT (Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura), BPP (Bodo People’s Party), PMK (Pattali Makkal Katchi), MGP (Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party), Apna Dal, AGP (Asom Gana Parishad), Rashtriya Lok Jan Shakti Party, Nishad Party, UPPL (United People’s Party Liberal, Assam), AIRNC (All India NR Congress, Puducherry), Shiromani Akali Dal (Sanyukt, Dhadial), among others.
BJP’s former ally Shiromani Akali Dal absent from NDA meeting in Delhi
As the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) met in Delhi on Tuesday, one of its oldest allies, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), was absent at the conclave after the fallout between the BJP and SAD over the farm laws. A source from the SAD said that there had been no talks between the party and the BJP in recent months.