Regional parties question BJP’s minorities approach

Regional parties are asking why minority communities — Muslims, Christians, dalits, Sikhs and others — are moving away from the BJP while drawing attention to how Sikhs are not getting gubernatorial posts.

The regional parties — which not only checked the Modi wave in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Orissa in the 2014 Lok Sabha election but remained key players in the Maharashtra and Jammu and Kashmir Assembly polls held later as well as in the Delhi and Bihar Assembly polls — have been the bane of the BJP.

But neither the AIADMK and BJD, which are friendly with the BJP at the Centre, nor NDA constituents like Apna Dal, RPI (A), and Swabhimani Paksha have been accommodated in power positions.

The Shiromani Akali Dal, Shiv Sena, TDP, LJP and RLSP got ministries at the Centre but they feel it is inadequate.

The BJP’s breaking away from its oldest allies, like the Shiv Sena in the Maharashtra Assembly polls and the JD(U) before the general election, has already alerted its current and prospective allies who foresee that the saffron party’s real agenda is to make a dent in their political constituencies in states where they are powerful.

A leader of a BJP ally said the NDA partners have now become insignificant.

“Our politics depends on regional issues, and pride and support of minorities, but the top BJP leadership has been ignoring us. If senior BJP leaders are openly talking of bifurcation of Maharashtra, others are suggesting that the SAD has become a liability for the BJP in Punjab. This strategy will ultimately work against regional parties,” he said.

While the LJP and RPI(A) have been unhappy the way the BJP and its leaders are handling the issue of dalit atrocities, the PDP is in two minds on whether to continue with the alliance with the BJP in Jammu and Kashmir.

The BJD and AIADMK had quit the NDA after realising that the BJP would try to weaken them in Orissa and Tamil Nadu. The TDP is also cautious of the BJP’s real agenda in Andhra Pradesh.