Chennai: The INDIA bloc’s ‘victory’ in the recently-held Lok Sabha polls was ‘historic’ as the BJP could not form the government on its own, according to Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin.
“Narendra Modi became Prime Minister only due to the support extended by N Chandrababu Naidu and Nitish Kumar. This was a ‘defeat’ for Modi as he had to depend on allies to form the government,” Stalin, who heads the DMK, an INDIA member, said at an event in Coimbatore.
Under DMK, its largest constituent in Tamil Nadu, the Congress-party led opposition alliance won all 39 Lok Sabha seats in the southern state, and the lone parliamentary segment in the neighbouring Puducherry Union territory.
Therefore, restricting BJP to ‘only’ 240 seats nationally, is INDIA’s ‘41st victory,’ Stalin stated.
“It is not an ordinary win for us, but a historic one…a win for your (DMK workers) hard work and unity. Now the BJP government cannot do all that it wants,” he added.
Stalin also exuded confidence that the DMK would ‘decimate’ the opposition AIADMK in the 2026 state polls.
The BJP, in its first two terms under Narendra Modi had 282 and 303 parliamentarians of its own in the 543-member Lok Sabha. Now, though he won his third consecutive term, PM Modi required support from allies in the NDA, the saffron party-led coalition, to form the government at the Centre.
Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP and the JD(U), headed by his Bihar counterpart Nitish Kumar, bagged 16 and 12 Lok Sabha seats, respectively, making their support crucial for the BJP.
Together, the NDA has 293 representatives in Parliament’s Lower House, while INDIA has 234 members. INDIA constituents Congress (99 seats), Samajwadi Party (37), Trinamool Congress (29) and DMK (22), are the largest parties in the House after the BJP.
