BJP fails to get Majority
2 Coalition-Era Veterans Emerge Kingmakers
As the poll picture emerged clearer by the evening, unconfirmed reports made the rounds that INDIA leaders reached out to the two veterans.
Reportedly, while one veteran got arrested eight months back and spent two months in jail in a corruption case probed by his arch-rival’s administration, the other veteran was written off by many after the latest of his many flip-flops. And interestingly, the two have now emerged as kingmakers in this Lok Sabha election that failed to give an absolute majority to the BJP. These two leaders are Bihar CM and JDU Chief Nitish Kumar and Telugu Desam Party leader N Chandrababu Naidu.
Nearly 12 hours into the counting, TDP won 16 seats on its own as the NDA dominated Andhra Pradesh with 21 wins out of 25 seats. In Bihar, Nitish Kumar’s JDU geared up to win 12 seats, the same as BJP, regardless contesting fewer constituencies than its ally.
As the poll picture emerged crystal by evening, reports started doing the rounds that INDIA leaders are reaching out to the two veterans in their efforts to cobble together a majority. None of these were confirmed on record, as Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said they will hold a meeting with other INDIA allies tomorrow on the way forward.
13 hours after counting began, at 9.30 pm, INDIA allies together won 233 seats — 39 short of the majority mark.
The BJP-led NDA crossed the majority mark with a tally of 291 19 more than the majority mark and scored 239 on its own, 33 short of the magic figure.
Among the 19 unaligned MPs are four from YSRCP and Independents. Hence, if the INDIA bloc wants to have a shot at power, they need a combo of JDU, TDP and some Independents too. The BJP, on the other hand, must retain them at all costs if they want to stay in power.
In fact, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge dropped a broad hint when he spoke of new partners in the party’s presser this evening. “Until we talk to our alliance partners… and the new partners that could join us about how we could work together and get a majority, we will see. If I reveal all our strategies now, PM Modi will become wary
Nitish Kumar’s latest switch to the NDA, months after he led the efforts to stitch together an Opposition alliance, had drawn much ridicule, with many writing his political obituary. After decades of leading NDA in Bihar, he had to settle with less number of seats as the BJP made it clear who the boss is. Cut to June 4, and the JDU chief holds the upper hand. And with his history of flip-flops, the BJP cannot be too sure.
From winning three seats in 2019 to a score of 19 this year, Chandrababu Naidu has staged a big comeback. Riding on TDP’s shoulders, the BJP too managed three wins in a state it has no presence in.
To add to it, TDP has also swept the Assembly polls.
As someone who played a key role in propping up HD Devegowda and IK Gujral as Prime Minister during the coalition era of the 1990s, Mr Naidu has friends across the political divide. While senior TDP leaders, including his son Nara Lokesh, have said they would stick with NDA, the final call will be taken by the party boss.
News Edit K.V.Raman
