Shruti Suman
New Delhi : The BJP-led NDA secured 294 seats in the 543-member Parliament, surpassing the majority mark of 272 by 22 seats. The INDIA Opposition bloc, however, ended up with 234 seats, falling 38 short of a majority. Key NDA allies, TDP’s Chandrababu Naidu and JDU’s Nitish Kumar, hold significant influence over the balance of power. Though they contested the general election alongside the BJP, INDIA leaders have reached out to these seasoned coalition politicians in an attempt to persuade them to join the Opposition bloc. For INDIA to achieve a majority, it needs the support of both the JDU and TDP, along with a few unaligned MPs.
Following the election results, leaders from both the NDA and INDIA alliances are traveling to Delhi for discussions on their next steps. Notably, Nitish Kumar, who has a history of political shifts, shared a flight with Tejashwi Yadav, an ally of the INDIA bloc and RJD leader, as they headed to Delhi for separate meetings. Visuals from the flight showed Mr. Yadav sitting behind Mr. Kumar, and later sitting next to him, stirring speculation.
It’s important to remember that both Naidu and Kumar have been vocal critics of Prime Minister Modi and the BJP in the past. In fact, Nitish Kumar had previously led discussions to form an Opposition front against the BJP before making a last-minute switch.
Among the INDIA leaders traveling to Delhi for the crucial meeting are Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav, Uddhav Thackeray, Sharad Pawar, DMK president MK Stalin, and Trinamool Congress’s Abhishek Banerjee. Leaders from the Left will also attend the meeting.
For the NDA, Nitish Kumar and Chandrababu Naidu are flying in, along with Shiv Sena leader and Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Hindustani Awam Morcha chief Jitan Ram Manjhi, Jana
NI Bureau
