Following the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) securing a majority, the BJP-led coalition is moving in to form the new central government at the earliest. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leads the coalition with 240 seats, followed by the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Janata Dal (United) (JDU). However, with the BJP failing to reach the ‘magic figure’ of 272 on its own, speculations are rife that Nitish Kumar’s JD-U and Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP are bargaining hard for Cabinet berths and may even exit the alliance if their demands are not met.
Both TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu and JDU chief Nitish Kumar have been known to switch political alignments in the past.
Commenting on the speculations, former Congress leader Acharya Pramod Krishnam said that it was not justified to suspect Nitish Kumar and Chandrababu Naidu without a reasonable cause. He stressed that the nation wanted to see Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister again. Acharya Pramod Krishnam was expelled from the Congress earlier this year for “indiscipline” and repeated comments against the party.
‘Unfair To…’: Pramod Krishnam On Nitish, Naidu
Responding to questions about Nitish Kumar and Chandrababu Naidu changing alliances in the past, Acharya Pramod Krishnam stated, “The BJP had an alliance with Nitish and Chandrababu before the elections, and it would be unfair to doubt their commitment without reason. Nitish Kumar, Chirag Paswan, Jitan Ram Manjhi, and Chandrababu Naidu stand with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The BJP has achieved significant success in the elections.”
He further said, “In Andhra Pradesh, a government will be formed in alliance with Chandrababu Naidu. We have secured a substantial number of seats there. Overall, it is evident that the people of the country want to see Narendra Modi serve a third term as Prime Minister. If there was widespread dissatisfaction with Modi, such a significant mandate would not have been given in the party’s favour.”