Lok Sabha Election Results 2024: As the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is all set to fall short of the majority mark in the Lok Sabha Elections 2024, while the NDA is well above the halfway stage, JDU leader Khalid Anwar on Tuesday (June 4) put forth the question of Nitish Kumar be projected as the Prime Minister candidate. He said that Kumar is a “seasoned politician” and people wanted him to lead the nation. His remarks came as the JDU, an ally of the BJP, was leading on 14 seats in Bihar, surpassing the BJP which was ahead on 12 seats as the counting of votes continued.
Amid prospects of Nitish Kumar’s switchover to the I.N.D.I.A bloc as the Opposition’s alliance was leading on over 230 seats, falling nearly 40 short of the magic number of 272, Anwar said that the JDU was part of the NDA “as of now”.
“Who can be a better PM than Nitish Kumar?... Nitish Kumar is a seasoned politician who understands the society and the country. And he respects all the democratic institutions... We are a part of the NDA Alliance as of now, but earlier and today, people wanted Nitish Kumar to be the PM. The expectations of the people have increased after today's result…” he said.
KC Tyagi says 'we are with NDA'
JD(U) spokesperson KC Tyagi said that the party stands ground on its previous stance and is firmly with the NDA.
"...We continue with our previous stand. Under the leadership of Nitish Kumar, JD(U) once again expresses its support in NDA...We are with the NDA, we will continue to be with the NDA..." he said.
New speculations after fractured mandate for BJP alone
Speculations began as the BJP fell short of the majority mark on its own, even though the NDA, led by the party, crossed the 272 halfway mark comfortably. Amid all such speculations, the INDIA bloc has called a meeting of its leaders tomorrow where further course of action will be decided.
Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan did not rule out the options of pitching for -- TDP's Chandrababu Naidu, who returned to the NDA just before the elections, and Nitish Kumar, who had quit the bloc earlier this year and joined hands with the BJP once again -- to join the alliance.
On being asked if TDP and JD(U) are an option for INDIA alliance, Chavan said, "There will be a meeting of the INDIA alliance tomorrow. These options cannot be ruled out. Whether INDIA alliance decides to make a pitch to Chandrababu Naidu and Nitish Kumar depends on the leaders when they meet tomorrow. This is not impossible or unthinkable, such things have happened before."
(With ANI inputs)
