Kingmakers Nitish Kumar and Chandrababu Naidu expected to be In Delhi tomorrow as BJP seeks allies to form govt

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N Chandrababu Naidu, who have emerged as kingmakers in the Lok Sabha elections, are expected to be in Delhi tomorrow, according to sources.

Nitish and Naidu are expected to arrive in Delhi as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is scrambling for partners to form a coalition government after failing to reach the majority-mark of 272. Nitish’s Janata Dal-United (JD-U) has won 15 seats and Naidu’s TDP has won 12 seats.

Both the JD (U) and TDP are part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), but there are reports that the two could be poached by the Opposition’s INDIA bloc which is not very far from the BJP.

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Of the 543 seats, the BJP is ahead on 240 and the INDIA is ahead on 233. The broader BJP-led NDA is, however, past the majority mark with its 292 seats. However, if the TDP and JD (U) with their 27 seats switch to the INDIA bloc, the alliance will inch close to the majority-mark.

Naidu & Nitish expected to meet top BJP leaders

Initially, it was expected that Naidu was to address a press conference on Tuesday, but it was cancelled and he instead is reported to be meeting Pawan Kalyan of the Jana Sena Party, the other BJP ally in Andhra Pradesh, said sources to CNN-News 18.

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Both the leaders will travel to Delhi on Wednesday and will meet top BJP leaders.

The sources at the Bihar Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) also said that Nitish will arrive in Delhi tomorrow. Earlier in the day, Deputy Bihar CMs Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha of the BJP went to Nitish’s house to meet him.

Is Opposition trying to poach Nitish & Naidu?

After the BJP failed to secure majority on its own, the TDP and JD (U) have become kingmakers as their support is a must for the BJP to form government.

While both the parties are part of the NDA, both of them have a history of quitting the bloc and Nitish has been infamous for switching his allegiance over the years. There are reports that the INDIA bloc has reached out to both the parties and have offered lucrative deals to make them switch to their side.

The ABP News has reported that the INDIA bloc has offered the post of Deputy Prime Minister to Nitish to bring him to their side.

The sources were further quoted as saying that the INDIA bloc has also offered the status of special status for Andhra Pradesh to bring TDP to their side.

Separately, former JD (U) partner Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has said that both Nitish and Naidu are expected to switch to INDIA bloc.

“We have been, formerly, in alliance with both Nitish Kumar and Chandrababu Naidu. We know they share a dislike for vendetta politics which the BJP stands for. Narendra Modi seems to be on his way out. We are hopeful that the two leaders will play a crucial role in the change of guard at the Centre,” said RJD leader Manoj Kumar Jha to reporters in Patna.