What’s Brewing? Nitish And Tejashwi On Same Flight To Delhi As NDA, INDIA Bloc Huddle To Form Govt

Following the 2024 Lok Sabha polls where the BJP failed to secure a two-third majority, both the NDA and INDIA alliances are set to convene crucial meetings today in a bid to gather the necessary numbers for government formation. The BJP-led NDA secured 294 seats in the 543-member Parliament, surpassing the crucial threshold of 272 by 22 seats. Meanwhile, the INDIA Opposition bloc obtained 234 seats, falling short of the majority mark by 38 seats.

Now, as BJP failed to secure the majority mark alone, all ayes are on its NDA allies TDP's Chandrababu Naidu and JDU's Nitish Kumar. Despite contesting the general election alongside the BJP, reports suggest that INDIA leaders are actively engaging with veteran coalition partners to garner support for the Opposition bloc.

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Today, leaders from both the NDA and INDIA alliances are en route to Delhi for discussions regarding the future course of action. Interestingly, Nitish Kumar, renowned for his history of political shifts, will reportedly share a flight with RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, his former Mahagathbandhan ally to attend separate meetings.

On Tuesday, as trends became clear that BJP is failing short of majority, the Bihar CM Nitish Kumar became the man of the moment. Memes on Kumar flooded the internet and everyone is left guessing what Nitish Kumar will do now. Notably, Nitish was one of the first partners in the formation of INDIA bloc alliance before he made a surprise U-turn to BJP.

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JDU leader KC Tyagi, a close aide of Nitish Kumar, confirmed to news agency ANI yesterday that the party will remain in the NDA, dispelling any speculation of a potential shift to the INDIA bloc. Meanwhile, Chandrababu Naidu extended congratulations to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the NDA's impressive performance in Andhra Pradesh, emphasising TDP's willingness to collaborate with the BJP in the state's reconstruction.

However, it's noteworthy that both Nitish Kumar and Naidu had previously voiced strong criticism against Prime Minister Modi and the BJP.