NEW DELHI: After losing the recent
bypolls (and the state of Karnataka) to a united
opposition, the BJP is now gearing up to deal with its allies in
NDA - with many seemingly in a mood to bargain:
* The JD(U) says Nitish Kumar is the face of NDA in Bihar and the party will contest from 25 (out of 40) seats in 2019 Lok Sabha polls
* Another Bihar ally RLSP’s Upendra Kushwaha has questioned BJP’s big brother attitude
* BJP has called a meeting of all its Bihar allies in NDA on June 7
* Another NDA member in UP says BJP lost bypolls because it chose Yogi as CM
* Shiv Sena says it will go solo in 2019
* Chandrababu Naidu has already walked out of NDA
* GST waiver on langar food is being seen as a move to placate the Akalis
The bottomline: Keeping its house in order may be as big a challenge for the ruling party as taking on rivals
