It's a beginning of hectic political season ahead of the Monsoon session of parliament as a series of meetings are scheduled to be held to formulate 2024 poll strategy. On July 18, a day when the opposition parties will be holding their meeting in Bengaluru to chalk out a plan for a united fight against the saffron party, the BJP-led-NDA, too, will hold its meeting where several of the old and new allies are expected to join.
When the Opposition parties make a show of strength, the NDA will also showcase its building muscle power as its former allies like Chandrababu Naidu, Chirag Paswan, Jitan Ram Manjhi and leaders from NCP (Ajit Pawar faction) and Shiv Sena are expected to participate. Akali Dal and JD(S) are also the potential allies that can join the NDA, but there are some concerns within the party that whether getting them on board for the Lok Sabha elections will bring any good.
The meeting comes at a time when the NDA has completed 25 years of its existence, the longest surviving coalition, in May this year. The BJP leadership is expected to highlight the contribution of the NDA in the country’s political history when the meeting takes place.
There has been a fervent speculation over a cabinet reshuffle so that new allies can be accommodated to cement the ties. The buzz has kept several ministers on the tenterhooks that they may lose their portfolio if Prime Minister Narendra Modi decides to bring new faces keeping in mind the caste equations ahead of the assembly elections in five states later this year. The government, in its usual style, has kept kept everyone including party leaders guessing without hinting if they would go ahead with the reshuffle.
The Opposition and NDA meetings are also expected to touch upon the Uniform Civil Code which the government has said that it will bring in parliament. The NDA will need the support of its allies in pushing forward with the contentious code where even parties like the Akali Dal and AIADMK have expressed their apprehensions in the past, apart from the tribal groups.
The monsoon session of parliament is set to begin from July 20. It is expected to be a stormy affair as Manipur, floods and price rise are some of the issues to be raised by the Opposition parties demanding answers from the government.
The positioning by respective parties during the Monsoon session will mark the beginning of a long and hectic political season ahead of the upcoming elections including polls to five states this year.