Amid hectic parleys, efforts on to form new government
All eyes are on NDA’s meeting on Friday where Prime Ministerial candidate for new government is expected to be formally nominated
New Delhi: Amid hectic political activity in the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) camp focussing on parleys with the two key partners – JD(U) of Nitish Kumar and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) of N Chandrababu Naidu who together have 28 MPs – on the government formation has brought to the fore the art and skill of accommodation of allies in a coalition arrangement.
All eyes are now fixed on the NDA’s newly elected members’ meeting at Parliament’s Central hall on Friday morning where members are likely to formally nominate the Prime Ministerial candidate for the new government.
Sources indicate that both TDP and JD (U), now playing the role of “kingmakers,” have signalled their support for the formation of a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led NDA government and the swearing-in ceremony of PM Modi is likely to be slated for June 9.
Since the TDP chief will attend the PM’s swearing-in ceremony, Naidu’s oath ceremony is tentatively scheduled for June 12. Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a meeting of NDA parties on Wednesday evening to outline the details of government formation. Among those present were key BJP figures such as Amit Shah, JP Nadda, and Rajnath Singh, alongside leaders from NDA partners like Chandrababu Naidu, Nitish Kumar, HD Kumaraswamy, Eknath Shinde, and Chirag Paswan.
The Election Commission of India has formally declared results for 542 out of 543 Lok Sabha constituencies, with the BJP securing 240 seats and the Congress 99. This marks a significant decrease from the BJP’s previous tallies of 303 in 2019 and 282 in 2014, while the Congress has shown growth, securing 99 seats compared to 52 in 2019 and 44 in 2014. The INDIA bloc, surpassing the 230 mark, has presented formidable competition, defying exit poll predictions.
Although PM Modi secured a third term, the BJP will need crucial support of other parties in its coalition. This marks the first time since 2014 that the BJP failed to secure a majority on its own.
The BJP has reportedly conveyed that it would keep crucial portfolios like Defence, Finance, Home and External Affairs. In the initial discussions, the allies have reportedly demanded the post of Lok Sabha Speaker and one minister for every four MPs. Though there is no official statement, it is learnt that TDP is seeking four Cabinet berths while the JD(U) is pushing for three. Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena has 7 MPs and Chirag Paswan’s LJP five. Each is likely to demand at least two ministries.
Simultaneously, a series of high-level BJP meetings have been convened at the residence of its national president, Jagat Prakash Nadda. Senior BJP leaders, including Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Tarun Chugh, and Vinod Tawde, held deliberations throughout Thursday, focusing on government formation, outreach to allies, ministerial allocations, and internal party selection for the coalition government.
