HAVING SWIFTLY cobbled together key alliances with regional parties and seat-sharing arrangements with smaller groups, the ruling BJP appears more confident than before in the final run-up to the 2019 general elections that were announced on Sunday.
Despite bickering and discontent among allies in the NDA, the ruling party has exhibited more alacrity than the Opposition’s grand alliance, even swallowing its pride to finalise tie-ups with the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra, the Shiromani Akali Dal in Punjab and the AIADMK in Tamil Nadu. As late as Friday, the party locked an alliance with the All Jharkhand Student’s Union (AJSU) in Jharkhand.
On Friday, at its Parliamentary board meeting, the party’s top leadership was “very particular that winnability should be the only criteria”, said sources. “The party is likely to sacrifice many of its policies, like denying seats for those over 75 and its…