NEW DELHI: A day after senior leaders of the ruling NDA alliance met in the capital to draft a joint strategy for the upcoming stormy Budget session, BJP chief Amit Shah met TDP president and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu separately to ensure better co-ordination between allies.
Shah later in the day also met Punjab deputy CM and Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal as alliance was strained in the state. Emerging from the meeting, Badal tried to put all doubts at rest saying alliance would continue in the state.
Shah will be will be meeting leaders of other ruling alliance constituents in the coming days.
The initiative has got underway after Akali Dal and Shiv Sena voiced concern over "lack of coordination" in the NDA in a meeting of it constituents.
After the meeting, Naidu had downplayed the purported differences between the partners but added that some states and parties may have some concerns which can be discussed in one to one meetings like this. He added that larger national and political issues should be discussed in the NDA meeting, while state and party-specific matters can be raised in one to one talks.
BJP sources said the exercise will help in obtaining inputs from allies on political and governmental matters, particularly ahead of the Budget Session during which the opposition would seek to corner the Modi government on a variety of issues.
"Being the head of the largest NDA constituent, BJP chief is the key driver of the alliance. Such meetings will help in better floor management and also countering the opposition effectively," he said. Naidu was the NDA convener during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government and TDP sources said his experience will be of help in running the alliance smoothly.
Later in the evening Badal also met Shah. As Punjab BJP leaders had already recommended to Shah that they break off alliance with Akalis as the latter were hugely unpopular and it would harm the party in next year’s assembly elections, Shah discuss the matter with Badal so that step be taken to mollify the state unit. However, after emerging from meeting, Badal said the alliance would continue.
“SAD-BJP alliance is a permanent alliance which can't be broken. We are jointly working on a strategy to win the next elections,” Badal said. Shiv Sena and Akali Dal raised the issue of "lack of coordination" in the ruling coalition and noted that there was better cohesion during the previous NDA government headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee.