National Democratic Alliance (India)

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The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is a coalition of political parties in India. It is led by the Bharatiya Janata Party and had 13 constituent parties at the time of its formation in 1998. The convenor of NDA is George Fernandes, and its honorary Chairman is former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Also representing the alliance are Lal Krishna Advani, who is the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha; Jaswant Singh, who is Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha; and Charnjit Singh Atwal, who is the Deputy Speaker in the Lok Sabha.

[edit] History

The announcement of the National Democratic Alliance in May of 1998 signalled the first step in the building of the coalition, which formed the Government in 1998, but collapsed within a year due to the AIADMK pulling out. It proceeded to win the 1999 elections with a greater majority and new alliances. The NDA governed under Prime Minister Vajpayee for a full five years hence, and was widely expected to win the 2004 elections. However, post-elections, a coalition led by the main opposition Congress party staked a claim to form the government, with support from non-aligned parties. The formation of the United Progressive Alliance, the Congress-led coalition, was inspired by the structure of the NDA, with one major national party at the helm and several regional parties participating.

[edit] Structure

Given the tendency of political parties in India to make and break alliances frequently, the National Democratic Alliance does not have a formal governing structure in place, such as an executive board or politburo. It has been up the leaders of the individual parties to make decisions on issues such as seat-sharing in elections, allocation of ministries and the issues that are raised in Parliament. Given the varied ideologies among the parties, there have been many cases of disagreement and split voting among the allies. George Fernandes, who is the NDA convener, was also chosen by the leaders of the individual parties, and not by any electoral vote. He has no fixed tenure.

[edit] Past and Present Members

Currently, the 6 other parties in the NDA are:

• Shiv Sena - Maharashtra
• Janata Dal (United) - Bihar and Karnataka
• Biju Janata Dal - Orissa
• Shiromani Akali Dal - Punjab
• Nagaland People's Front - Nagaland

Former members of the National Democratic Alliance, who have left the alliance:

• Jammu & Kashmir National Conference - Withdrew in 2002, blaming the BJP for its loss in Jammu & Kashmir state elections. Omar Abdullah, son of former J&K Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah, served as a Minister of State for External Affairs.
• Indian National Lok Dal - Mutual resentment led to split-up of the INLD and BJP prior to the 2004 Lok Sabha elections.
• Lok Jan Shakti Party - Withdrew following 2002 Gujarat religious riots. Its leader, Ram Vilas Paswan, served as the cabinet-level Communications, and later, Coal Minister.
• Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam - Joined hands with Congress party during 2004 elections.
• Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam - Joined hands with Congress party during 2004 elections.
• All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam - Joined hands with Congress party during 1999 elections; Subsequently re-joined alliance during 2004 elections, but did not remain aligned post-defeat.
• Pattali Makkal Katchi - Joined hands with Congress party during 2004 elections.
• Rashtriya Lok Dal - Withdrew in 2003 to pursue alliance to form Uttar Pradesh state government with the Samajwadi Party.
• Indian Federal Democratic Party - Its leader, P.C. Thomas, was a minister in the Vajpayee government and the only member of Parliament in the alliance from Kerala. Following the 2004 election, he merged his party with the Kerala Congress, which is aligned with the Left.
• Trinamool Congress - West Bengal - Withdrew from the alliance at the end of 2007.

Parties who gave outside support, but are no longer allies:

• Telugu Desam Party - In the monsoon session of Parliament of 2005, the TDP decided not to continue as part of an NDA boycott of Parliament. Speculation of an end to the NDA-TDP relationship was confirmed in August of that year, when the BJP and TDP contested local elections in Andhra Pradesh on their own.

v • d • e Political parties in India National coalitions Left Front - National Democratic Alliance - United Progressive Alliance Recognized national parties Bahujan Samaj Party - Bharatiya Janata Party - Communist Party of India - Communist Party of India (Marxist) - Indian National Congress - Nationalist Congress Party Recognized state parties All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam - All India Forward Bloc - All India Trinamool Congress - Arunachal Congress - Asom Gana Parishad - Biju Janata Dal - Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation - Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam - Federal Party of Manipur - Indian Federal Democratic Party - Indian National Lok Dal - Indigenous Nationalist Party of Twipra - Jammu & Kashmir National Conference - Jammu & Kashmir National Panthers Party - Jammu and Kashmir People's Democratic Party - Janata Dal (Secular) - Janata Dal (United) - Janathipathiya Samrakshana Samithy - Jharkhand Mukti Morcha - Kerala Congress - Kerala Congress (Mani) - Lok Jan Shakti Party - Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party - Manipur People's Party - Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam - Meghalaya Democratic Party - Mizo National Front - Mizoram People's Conference - Muslim League Kerala State Committee - Nagaland People's Front - Pattali Makkal Katchi - Rashtriya Janata Dal - Rashtriya Lok Dal - Revolutionary Socialist Party - Samajwadi Party - Shiromani Akali Dal - Shiv Sena - Sikkim Democratic Front - Telangana Rashtra Samithi - Telugu Desam Party - United Democratic Party - United Goans Democratic Party - Uttarakhand Kranti Dal - Zoram Nationalist Party Other parties in parliament All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen - Bharatiya Navshakti Party - Loktantrik Jan Samta Party - National Loktantrik Party - Republican Party of India (Athvale) - Swatantra Bharat Paksh Other unrecognized, new-born or parties with limited presence. Maharashtra Navnirman Sena - Socialist Unity Centre of India Portal:Politics - List of political parties - Politics of India

[edit] References

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