The BJP's top brass is believed to have been nervous ever since the recent Karnataka assembly poll results. The saffron party suffered a rout.
It is believed that Narendra Modi and Amit Shah are slowly trying to reach out to YCP and a few other regional parties to keep their 2024 contest safe. In this context, two parties have already suggested that they won't mind allying with the BJP in the run-up to the 2024 elections.
Deve Gowda, the former Prime Minister, is the first of them. He has opined that there is no party that hasn't worked with the BJP, suggesting that he doesn't like to reduce BJP to just Hindutva and communalism. This could well be a hint that JD(S) will ally with BJP to defeat the Congress party next year.
The second regional party to appear to show interest in the BJP is Shiromani Akali Dal. The Punjab's regional party ruled out an alliance with the BJP just two weeks ago. However, Maheshinder Singh Grewal of the party has been quoted as saying this week that nothing is impossible in politics in the context of a possible collaboration with Modi's party. He ruled out an alliance with Congress categorically.
It has to be seen which parties BJP will like to ally with. Many BJP supporters don't want Akali Dal to be given a lift. "Akali Dal is down and out in Punjab. The weight of corruption and nepotism of the Badal family is weighing heavily on the party. They are hugely unpopular. This is the time for BJP to consolidate and work on building their party in Punjab ground up. An alliance at this point doesn’t go in favor of BJP," opined columnist Sunanda Vashisht.
