The day after the election results, leaders from both the NDA and INDIA alliances are heading to Delhi to discuss their next steps. The 2024 Lok Sabha polls didn’t give the BJP a two-thirds majority, so both alliances need to strategize to form the government.
The BJP-led NDA won 294 seats in the 543-member Parliament, which is 22 more than the required 272. The INDIA Opposition bloc got 234 seats, 38 short of the majority. Two key NDA allies, Chandrababu Naidu of TDP and Nitish Kumar of JDU, are crucial for forming the government. Although they campaigned with the BJP, INDIA leaders are trying to convince them to join their side. INDIA needs support from both JDU and TDP, plus some independent MPs, to secure a majority.
Interestingly, Nitish Kumar and his former ally, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, will be on the same flight to Delhi for separate meetings. Nitish Kumar’s aide, KC Tyagi, said JDU will stay in the NDA, dismissing rumors of joining INDIA. Meanwhile, Chandrababu Naidu congratulated Prime Minister Modi on NDA’s success in Andhra Pradesh and expressed his support for rebuilding the state with BJP, despite past criticisms of Modi and the BJP.
Key INDIA leaders traveling to Delhi for the meeting include Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Tejashwi Yadav, Uddhav Thackeray, Sharad Pawar, and DMK president MK Stalin. Leaders from the Left parties will also attend.
For the NDA, along with Nitish Kumar and Chandrababu Naidu, others flying in include Shiv Sena leader and Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Hindustani Awam Morcha chief Jitan Ram Manjhi, Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan, LJP leader Chirag Paswan, and JDS’s HD Kumaraswamy.
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