New Delhi: A decision on exploring the possibility of forming a government at the Centre will be taken during the meeting of INDIA bloc members tomorrow, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said today, shortly after data from the Election Commission showed Opposition performed way over the modest expectations raised by exit polls. “These questions will be raised and answered there. We won’t make any statements without asking our alliance partners,” he said while addressing a press conference at party headquarters today evening. According to reports, the Opposition INDIA bloc has started sending feelers to two key regional leaders who are part of the NDA bloc.
The BJP-led NDA, which had set a target of 400-plus, appears to be way short of the target, with states like Uttar Pradesh, which sends a whopping 80 lawmakers to the Lok Sabha, contributing to big setbacks for the saffron party.
“UP ki janta ne kamaal karke dikha diya…The people of UP understood the politics of the country and the danger to the Constitution, and they safeguarded the Constitution. I thank them for supporting the Congress party and INDIA alliance,” Rahul Gandhi, who appeared visibly energised, said.
The Opposition INDIA bloc, he said, did not fight the election just against the BJP but also the institutions, the governance structure of the country, and the intelligence agencies CBI and ED.
“This fight was to save the Constitution. It was in my mind, when they had frozen our accounts, destabilise the state governments, that the people of this country would fight against it. I was sure about it. I want to thank all our leaders and workers,” he said.
The results have proved that the country don’t want (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi and (Home Minister) Amit Shah to run this country, he said.
The resurgent Opposition – buoyed by its performance in the Lok Sabha elections – have offered the post of Deputy Prime Minister to Nitish Kumar and Chandrababu Naidu has been assured special status for Andhra Pradesh if they join the Opposition, sources have told Times Now. Both Kumar and Naidu are known to harbour national ambitions. Ironically, both the regional leaders joined the ruling alliance only ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
Speaking about how Opposition plans to make the majority, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge said that a strategy will be formed after a meeting with “our alliance partners and new partners”. “If I say all the strategies here, Modiji will become clever,” he said.
In a dramatic shift in its fortunes, the BJP, which had dominated the NDA for the last 10 years, is now looking to keep its partners together. Union Home Minister Amit Shah has spoken to BJP’s partners in Bihar, including Nitish Kumar and Chirag Paswan, and has been assured of complete support, sources told Times Now.
Nitish Kumar’s JDU is currently leading in 15 seats in Bihar. The TDP-BJP-Jana Sena Party (JSP) alliance appears to be giving a crushing defeat to the ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) in Andhra Pradesh. The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) is contributing significantly to this tally.
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The BJP’s dependence on these leaders became evident as the party struggled to reach the 272-mark on its own as of now. The party needs their support to form the NDA-3 government.
The BJP had been a dominant party in the NDA 1 and NDA 2 governments winning 282 and 303 Lok Sabha seats in 2014 and 2019.
