NDA 3.0: A year of caste counts, Operation Sindoor, state wins & the Waqf shake-up

Time of India

4 hours ago

The third term of the Narendra Modi-led NDA government began on June 9, 2024, with the BJP dependent on allies for the first time. In the past year, the coalition has stabilized, and the BJP has reinforced partnerships, including rejoining hands with the AIADMK in Tamil Nadu.
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On June 9, 2024, the NDA government took oath under PM Narendra Modi for the third time. This was the first Modi-headed government where the BJP has less than the majority seats and is dependent on its allies. After initial hiccups, the NDA has become stronger with the BJP leadership cementing ties with its partners across the country. In Tamil Nadu, after the Lok Sabha experience where the party tried to create a third front, it has now aligned with AIADMK ahead of the assembly elections next year. The first year of the government has been quite eventful politically and there were several defining moments for the government and BJP. ET's Kumar Anshuman lists some of the incidents which is shaping the political narrative.Last August, the central government put out advertisements for 45 mid-level government posts under the lateral entry scheme. This was the first issue in 11 years of NDA rule that faced some real objections from the allies. Two allies from Bihar -- JDU and LJP (Ram Vilas) -- raised objections. LJP leader and Union minister Chirag Paswan requested the government to withdraw the advertisement. JDU said the government could have consulted the allies before taking such a decision. The government was forced to withdraw it.This was the first election in J&K in over a decade and after the revocation of Article 370. After the Supreme Court order, the Election Commission on August 16 last year, announced elections in J&K in three phases. The constituencies were drawn up based on the delimitation exercise completed last year. The elections were peaceful and led to the formation of a democratic government. This was a defining political moment for the NDA government after the abrogation of Article 370. Around 64% voting was good enough for the government for the work done post abrogation of Article 370.Post the Lok Sabha elections, the NDA won three out of the five assembly elections in Haryana, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, J&K and Delhi. However, the Maharashtra victory was significant with the ruling alliance winning 235 of the 288 seats. The past five years in Maharashtra was politically volatile with several changes in the government and alliance partners. Such a victory by NDA after a poor show during the Lok Sabha elections, brought political stability not only in Maharashtra but also at the national level, solidifying the bonding among the NDA partners. The Delhi victory was the icing on the cake with the party coming to power after 27 years. The election victories changed the government's approach. Focus returned to governance and the government is willing to carry out reforms as planned.'One Nation One Election' has been on BJP's agenda for long and several political parties extended their support during their submission before a committee led by former president Ramnath Kovind. The bill was presented in Parliament and has been sent to a JPC headed by BJP MP, PP Choudhary. The JPC is conducting consultations on the bill. The tenure of the JPC has been extended till the Monsoon session and the government will proceed with it once the JPC submits its reports. BJP is organising events to create awareness on the proposed bill.With no sign of improvement in Manipur, President's rule was imposed this February. As things started improving, BJP MLAs moved the idea of forming a government. The government is yet to take a call on when to restore a government. Protests have started again which is going to delay the expected normalcy as envisaged by the Union government. Manipur is likely to keep drawing national attention in the coming year.The government stuck to its commitment to pass the Waqf Bill. Considering the inhibitions of the Opposition and some allies, the government formed a JPC for wider consultation on the bill. Finally, the bill was passed in the second part of the budget session with all NDA allies supporting it. The passing of the Waqf Bill established the fact that the BJP will continue to push its political agenda with the backing of allies.On April 22, India witnessed a major terror attack in Pahalgam. This shattered the confidence of the common man and was a challenge for the government which has been claiming normalcy in J&K. The Opposition came in full support of the government to take action against the perpetrators of terror. The government launched 'Operation Sindoor' by hitting the terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir from where terrorist attacks against India have been planned and directed. India targeted Air Defence Radars and systems at several locations in Pakistan in response to the drone attack launched by Pakistan.Post the operation, the government decided to send seven all-party delegations across the world to put forth India's point of view and isolate Pakistan on terror. The initiative got support from many countries as the ruling party and Opposition spoke in one voice on terror. Through Operation Sindoor, the government strengthened the nationalism narrative and set new bars for India's response to terror in future.Caste census has been the genesis of socialist politics in India and over the years several regional parties from north India have tried to champion the cause. Even NDA allies from Bihar and UP have been vocal about the caste census. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has been raising the pitch for caste census. The NDA government decided to conduct caste census with enumeration of caste, done only after the 1931 census. A socio-economic caste census was done in 2011, but the data was not comprehensive. The current census was to take place in 2021, but got delayed due to Covid-19. The next round of political movements regarding reservation, delimitation and equitable representation hinges on the findings of the current census.