NDA meeting: BJP chief JP Nadda has invited Hindustani Awam Morcha president Jitan Ram Manjhi and Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) leader Chirag Paswan to attend the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) meeting, to be held on July 18 in Delhi. The NDA has called the meet in order to built up alliance confidence against Opposition unity against the Modi government for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Earlier on Friday night, Union Minister Nityanand Rai met with Paswan. This was the second meeting between the two leaders time in a week.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also attend the meeting.
Nadda invited several other parties
The LJP(R) shared Nadda’s leader inviting him to attend the NDA meeting. In his letter to Paswan, Nadda said that Paswan’s party is an important ally in the Narendra Modi government’s development push and plans for the poor welfare. As per the news agency PTI sources, the BJP chief has written similar letters to several other parties, including those BJP has reached out to ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Former Chief Minister Manji’s son antosh Kumar Suman told PTI that he will attend the July 18 meeting. He confirmed that the BJP chief has written letter to him.
Shiv Sena Shinde faction, NCP faction headed by Ajit Pawar to attend meet
A number of new BJP allies, including the Shiv Sena headed by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, the NCP faction headed by Ajit Pawar, several smaller parties from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh and regional parties from the northeastern states, are among those expected to attend the NDA meeting.
This is for the first time during the second term of the Modi government that an NDA meeting of this scale is taking place after a number of old and key BJP allies, including Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena, Shiromani Akali Dal and the Janata Dal (United), severed ties with the party over a host of issues.
The BJP's outreach to Paswan, son of late stalwart Dalit leader Ram Vilas Paswan, underscores its push to bring him back into the NDA's fold after he walked out of the alliance in Bihar in the 2020 state assembly polls to campaign against Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who was then the BJP's biggest ally.
While a split in the LJP spearheaded by his uncle Pashupati Kumar Paras, now a Union minister, weakened him, Chirag Paswan is seen to have succeeded in retaining the party's loyal vote bank with him, signalling the BJP his importance in a state where it is pitted against the formidable coalition of the RJD, JD(U), Congress and the Left. He has also been steadfast in his support of the BJP on key issues.
(With PTI inputs)
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