‘Coalition of compulsions’: PM Modi on I.N.D.I.A

Calling the Opposition unity bid a coalition of compulsions and not contribution, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday invoked BJP patriarchs Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L K Advani while addressing a meeting of the expanded National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Delhi and exuded confidence that the ruling coalition would bag more than 50 per cent of the votes in the next Lok Sabha elections.

“In 2014, NDA’s vote share was 38 per cent and it rose to 45 per cent in 2019. In 2024, the NDA’s vote share will cross 50 per cent, the prime minister added, speaking at the conclusion of the meeting of 38 NDA partners.

Accusing Congress of triggering political uncertainty in the country in the 1990s, Modi said the NDA was a time-tested alliance stitched together with the contribution of stalwarts like Bal Thackeray, Prakash Singh Badal, Sharad Yadav, and Ajit Singh.

Read | An alliance for power, corruption, dynastic politics: PM Modi tears into Opposition

The meeting, chaired by BJP president J P Nadda, also marked the entry of some new allies into the NDA fold, including the Shiv Sena faction led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and the breakaway NCP faction led by Ajit Pawar.

Three new alliance partners from Bihar — Chirag Paswan’s LJP, Jitan Ram Manjhi’s HAM, and Upendra Kushwaha attended the meeting.

In his speech, Modi also sought to counter INDIA—the acronym for the newly christened opposition block—by spelling out the new direction for the NDA. “N stands for New India, D for Developed Nation, and A for the Aspirations of people,” the PM announced, iterating that for the BJP, “gathbandhan (alliance) is not majboori (weakness), but a medium of majbooti (strength).

"The NDA is not a symbol of coalition and compulsion but of coalition and contribution. No party is small or big. In 2014 and then in 2019, the BJP got the majority, but the NDA formed the government,” the prime minister said.

Taking a dig at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Modi said unlike the Opposition, the BJP always believed in “positive politics.”

Foreign help

“We have never sought foreign help to oppose governments. We remained in the opposition but did not block or become an obstacle to the development of the country,” the prime minister said.

Recalling awards conferred on Opposition leaders by his government, Modi said, the BJP has always respected opposition leaders.

Earlier in the day, Modi while speaking at the inauguration of the new terminal of the Port Blair airport launched a scathing attack on the opposition and accused the “dynastic political parties” of coming together for protecting their personal interest.