NDA Meeting in Delhi on July 18; SAD, TDP and YSRCP Likely to Attend

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is likely to get a boost in the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections as its former allies, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), may attend the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) meeting on July 18.

Meanwhile, there are speculations that Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) have also been invited to NDA meeting.

The meeting will take place in Ashoka hotel in Delhi. The SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal and the TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu are likely to attend the meeting.

The BJP has already got a boost after former Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi's Hindustani Awam Morcha joined the NDA last month after severing ties with the Nitish Kumar-led Mahagathbandhan.

Following Ajit Pawar's revolt in Maharashtra and a faction of the NCP joining the government, there have been murmurs about a possible alliance with the Janata Dal (Secular) in Karnataka and YSRCP in Andhra Pradesh with the BJP.

The TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu also recently held a meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah at the latter's residence.

The SAD had severed ties with the BJP-led NDA amid differences over the now-repealed farm laws. Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal had also resigned as Union Minister in September 2020.

The recent visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Chandigarh to pay homage on the demise of SAD patriarch Parkash Singh Badal, followed by BJP chief Nadda and Home Minister Amit Shah visiting his village on different occasions indicates efforts being made by BJP to get close to its old allies.

Recently, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also made reference to Parkash Singh Badal in his June 24 rally in Chandigarh.

He had said, "I want to say that we respect those a lot who come into the NDA fold...But I can say that if somebody leaves the NDA and even maintains distance we do not remove them from our hearts. This is the nature of the BJP."

It must be noted that the meeting of NDA would be held on the same day the opposition parties would meet at Bengaluru.