Nitish Kumar, Tejashwi Yadav on same plane to Delhi as NDA, INDIA plan next move

Chandigarh, June 5

Political leaders from both NDA and INDIA are landing in Delhi on Wednesday, with both the the alliances scheduling sessions in their bid to notch up the required numbers to form a majority government.

Declaration of results of Lok Sabha election in the 543-member Parliament saw BJP-led NDA winning 294 seats and the INDIA bloc bagging 234 seats.

A party or coalition requires two-third majority of 272 seats to form the government.

Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal United (JDU) chief Nitish Kumar and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N Chandrababu Naidu are among the NDA leaders flying into Delhi.

Coincidentally, Nitish Kumar and his former INDIA ally and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav of the RJD were seen flying in the same plane to Delhi.

The meeting by the Union Cabinet is scheduled to take place at around 3.30 pm while the meeting by the INDIA bloc will be held at 6 pm.

The JDU emerged victorious on 12 out of 40 seats in Bihar while the BJP won in 12 seats, the RJD won four seats and Congress secured three seats.

Telegu Desam Party chief Chandrababu Naidu who has emerged as the kingmaker in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections is also scheduled to hold a press conference.

The BJP won 240 seats, much lower than its 2019 tally of 303. The Congress, on the other hand, registered a strong growth, winning 99 seats. The INDIA bloc crossed the 230 mark, posing stiff competition, and defying all predictions.

While Prime Minister Narendra Modi has secured a third term, but the BJP will need to rely on the support of other parties in his coalition – JD (U) chief Nitish Kumar and TDP’s chief Chandrababu Naidu.

BJP fell 32 seats short of the 272 majority mark after votes polled in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections were counted.

For the first time, since the BJP swept to power in 2014, it did not secure a majority on its own.

With ANI inputs