The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance will ‘immediately’ visit President Droupadi Murmu to discuss the election results following a meeting at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home. The meeting is intended to establish the alliance’s claim to form the next government.
The meeting with Ms. Murmu will be attended by the senior-most leaders of the party, in a display of strength made noteworthy by the BJP’s narrow victory margin.
Naturally, this includes party chief JP Nadda, Mr. Modi, who is slated to serve a historic third term as prime minister, and his right-hand man, Amit Shah, who is leaving as home minister.
Nitish Kumar of the Janata Dal and N Chandrababu Naidu, the leader of the TDP, will also be there.
Nitish Kumar’s JDU secured 16 seats in Bihar, whereas Mr. Naidu’s TDP secured 28 Lok Sabha seats in Andhra Pradesh (along with a concurrent Assembly election to reclaim the Chief Ministership).
Many believe that their 28 MPs will support Mr. Modi and the BJP in their attempt to establish a third consecutive federal government, or else they will give ground to the INDIA bloc led by the Congress.
The Prime Minister specifically mentioned the leaders of the TDP and JDU in his victory address on Tuesday night, demonstrating that Mr. Modi and the BJP are cognizant of their significance to the NDA.
Furthermore, in the midst of ongoing rumors that the two would be taken advantage of by the Congress-led INDIA bloc (which the Bihar leader assisted in creating), it would be highly visible for PM Modi to make his application for government formation with Chandrababu Naidu and Nitish Kumar on either side of him.
According to sources, the Congress may pursue Mr. Naidu and Nitish Kumar, two seasoned politicians skilled in coalition politics, in an attempt to establish itself as a contender.
Although neither has shown their cards yet, rumors have it that they are considering a number of “demands,” such as special status for their states and the ability to choose which ministerial vacancies to accept.
In a national election on Tuesday, the INDIA alliance defied exit pollsters to present the BJP with a serious challenge—the first since the ‘Modi wave’ propelled it to power in 2014.
With 232 seats, the opposition alliance fell 40 seats shy of a 272-majority threshold.
Leaders in India, such as Mallikarjun Kharge, the head of the Congress, have been reticent to approach Mr. Naidu or Mr. Nitish Kumar, but there is a purpose, according to insiders.
In order to obtain 99 seats, the Congress gave its best showing since 2009. Only 52 seats were gained by the party in 2019 (Rahul Gandhi resigned as leader), compared to just 44 in 2014.
