Modi is no stranger to coalition politics; he/she has coordinated with many allies in the past

New Delhi: After running the government on his/her own at the center like an all-powerful CEO for the last decade, all eyes are now on Narendra Modi, who is going to start his/her term as Prime Minister for the third consecutive time. This time BJP does not have an absolute majority and Narendra Modi is leading the NDA alliance. Will the story of 2024 be different after 2014 and 2019? Many people are questioning that Modi ran a full majority government in Gujarat and at the Center, he/she does not have the experience of coalition. The biggest question in the minds of many people is whether he/she has flexibility in his/her nature and the ability to take different parties along. Amidst these questions, Modi’s party colleagues say that even though he/she may not have been dependent on allies in his/her previous tenures, he/she is not unaware of coalition politics.This is between 1990 and 2000
Party colleagues say that as BJP national general secretary (organisation) in the mid-1990s, Modi played a key role in forging a coalition in the north that included the Shiromani Akali Dal. The Akali Dal won the 1997 Punjab elections. Also, during his/her tenure as Haryana in-charge, the BJP worked with Bansi Lal and Om Prakash Chautala in the state. In Jammu and Kashmir too, Modi worked with the Abdullah family of the National Conference, who were part of the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government.

Modi was involved in coordination with allies
While Atal Bihari Vajpayee was leading the coordination, Modi as general secretary was involved in coordination with other allies including George Fernandes, Nitish Kumar, Sharad Yadav, Jayalalithaa, Mamata Banerjee and Balasaheb Thackeray. When Modi was with the Gujarat BJP in 1989, the BJP-Janata Dal alliance won 23 of the 26 seats in the state while the Congress won three seats. The BJP came to power after the assembly elections a year later.

There was a mention of emergency
Party sources said the Emergency was Modi’s initial training in working with different people in politics, which he/she mentioned in a blog. ‘For youngsters like me, the Emergency provided a wonderful opportunity to work with a wide spectrum of leaders and organisations who were fighting for the same goal. It enabled us to work beyond the institutions we grew up with.’

Coalition of states is important
Modi may have been running a majority government at the Centre but in many states the BJP was running governments with alliances. Even at the state level, alliances are important and one has to work together with allies. When the BJP and PDP formed an alliance in Jammu and Kashmir, Modi worked closely with Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. Despite attacks from Nitish Kumar and Chandrababu Naidu in the past, Modi never let it come in the way of working with them, his/her party colleagues said. Now this skill is being tested and the new government will be evaluated in a different way.