NEW DELHI: The Ajit Pawar faction of Nationalist Congress Party along with the Shinde group of Shiv Sena are likely to attend the meeting of National Democratic Alliance convened here on July 18 amid strong indications that BJP's talks with Chirag Paswan for his return to the fold have made "satisfactory progress".The BJP leadership has also decided "in principle" to bring Janata Dal (S), Om Prakash Rajbhar's OBC outfit, Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party, and, as reported earlier by TOI, Mukesh Sahni of Vikassheel Insan Party which represents fishermen, farmers and boatmen.Ahead of polls, BJP decides to take Chirag back into NDAThe participation of Ajit Pawar-led NCP, likely to be represented by Rajya Sabha Praful Patel, who was along with Supriya Sule appointed as working president of the party before the split, and the ruling Shiv Sena group in the NDA meeting will place the BJP-led alliance on a firmer footing for the 2024 contest for Maharashtra’s 48 Lok Sabha seats.The party has also decided to take Chirag Paswan back, something which could potentially cost his estranged uncle Pashupati Kumar Paras, Union minister for food processing, his berth in the ministry.

The decision marks an acknowledgement of Chirag being the sole legatee of his late father and Dalit leader Ramvilas Paswan and the “natural” leader of Dusadhs/Paswans, a tightly-knit political community which accounts for 4.5% of Bihar’s population.Coming after the induction of another influential Dalit leader Jitanram Manjhi, who crossed over to NDA to protest against JD(U)’s insistence to merge his Hindustan Awaam Morcha with CM Nitish Kumar’s outift, and amid advanced talks with VIP leader Sahni, Chirag’s return represents BJP’s attempt to engineer a rainbow coalition of upper castes, non-Yadav and non-Kurmi OBCs and Dalits.

The consideration for Lok Sabha polls also seems to have influenced the party’s openness to an alliance with JD(S) which commands the allegiance of the dominant caste of Vokkaligas in Karnataka.Besides, the party is also in discussion with two of its former allies —Telugu Desam Party and Shiromani Akali Dal.

BJP also feels that expansion of NDA at a time when the effort of opposition parties to engineer a front appears to be floundering, should enhance the party’s image in the battle of perception.

It was PM Narendra Modi who had in the last week of May emphasised the need to strengthen and expand NDA.