Amit Shah to meet Sena & SAD chiefs this week to reach out to sulking allies

Taking lessons from the recent bypoll defeats, BJP president Amit Shah has initiated moves to reach out to sulking allies.

According to reports, BJP president Amit Shah will meet Shiv Sena Chief Uddhav Thackeray at his residence Matoshree on Wednesday in what could possibly be a bid to calm frayed nerves. Shah is also likely to meet Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) patriarch Parkash Singh Badal in Punjab in the next few days.

The meeting with Thackeray holds importance to the future of BJP-Sena relations as the ties between the two parties have been at a low following a bitter war of words during Maharashtra bypolls.


An unhappy Shiv Sena has repeatedly hit out at the BJP and called it party's "political enemy" due to NDA's high-handed attitude of the NDA leader towards its smaller allies. Sena had already declared they will not be having an alliance with the BJP in upcoming elections.

BJP is also facing tough time in Bihar against ally JD(U) where the regional party is demanding BJP to announce Nitish Kumar as NDA's face in Bihar and the seats sharing for the next year Lok Sabha elections may further strain ties.

Why allies are important for BJP
Though major BJP allies have not done well in the by elections, reducing their scope for bargaining, the saffron party needs to hold on to them and work on reduce friction in order to return to power next year.

Opposition parties are joining hands against the BJP and powerful regional parties can give the saffron party a tough time in the 2019 polls. The trailer about the possible alliance and its affect on BJP was visible in the recent bypolls results where BJP managed to win just 2 seats out of 14.

The saffron party is also concerned about its winning chances in the hindi belt, where it is facing anti-incumbency in Rajashthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Chattisgarh. BJP swept the hindi heartland in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections by winning almost all the seats in Rajasthan, MP, UP, Chattisgarh and Bihar. Many in the party feel that it may have already hit the peak and the overall tally in this belt may fall down drastically.

In this scenario, BJP may need some help from its alliance partners and additional seats from uncharted areas like West Bengal, Odisha and Southern States.