New Delhi : With the 2024 Lok Sabha polls denying an absolute majority to BJP, NDA and INDIA partners will be holding key meetings today as they try to cobble together numbers required to form the government.
The BJP-led NDA bagged 294 seats in the 543-member Parliament — 22 more than the magic figure of 272. The INDIA Opposition bloc finished with 234 — 38 less than the majority mark.
Two NDA allies, TDP’s Chandrababu Naidu and JDU’s Nitish Kumar, hold the key to the doors to power. While the two contested the general election in an alliance with the BJP, INDIA leaders are learnt to have reached out to coalition-era veterans to woo them into the Opposition bloc. As the numbers stack up, INDIA needs the support of both JDU and TDP, and a bunch of unaligned MPs, to clinch a majority.
NDA and INDIA alliances are flying to Delhi to hold discussions on the way forward. Interestingly, Nitish Kumar, known for his record of political flip-flops, will be on the same flight as INDIA ally and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav. Both Mr Kumar and Mr Yadav, his former ally, will be on the same plane when they travel to Delhi to attend separate meetings.
Nitish Kumar’s close aide and JDU leader KC Tyagi told news agency ANI yesterday that the party will stay in NDA and rejected any speculation of a switch to INDIA bloc. The other kingmaker, Mr Naidu, congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi on NDA’s stunning show in Andhra Pradesh and said TDP and BJP will rebuild the state together.