New Delhi:

A story of ‘what may need been…’ unfolded for the Congress-led INDIA bloc Monday as votes have been counted for the 2024 Lok Sabha election, which has seen the opposition defy massively one-sided exit ballot claims to maintain Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP’s beforehand huge benefits in verify.

In Bihar – which sends 40 MPs to the Lok Sabha, is a essential a part of the ‘Hindi heartland’, or Hindi-speaking belt that accounts for over 250 seats, and is seen as a bastion of the BJP – the JDU of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, a founding member of INDIA, has received 5 seats and is ready to win seven extra.

However these won’t depend in direction of INDIA’s rating. It won’t transfer the opposition nearer, in any important method, to the bulk mark of 272. The BJP has sufficient (nonetheless) to complete with over 280 seats.

The JDU’s 12 seats will not depend to INDIA’s rating as Nitish Kumar is now not a part of the group. However, have been he nonetheless so, it will have slashed the BJP’s Bihar benefit and been a status enhance.

Had INDIA retained the JDU at present, it will have left the BJP with solely 18 anticipated wins; 12 from its facet and 5 from the LJP faction led Chirag Paswan – ex-Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan’s son.

Former Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Manjhi’s HAM(S), additionally a NDA member, would possibly win one seat.

That will have meant the BJP recorded its worst efficiency in a Bihar Lok Sabha election since 2004: again then it completed with simply 11 seats – six for Mr Modi’s occasion and 5 for the JDU.

In 2019 the BJP – allied with the JDU then too, earlier than one among Nitish Kumar’s notorious flip-flops drew him to return to the RJD-led Mahagathbandan – and the Chief Minister’s outfit fought 17 seats every.

The BJP received 17 and the JDU 16.

A smaller ally – the Lok Janshakti Social gathering of late ex-Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan received six extra seats to offer the NDA mix a digital sweep. The one misplaced seat was Kishanganj that the Congress received.

Lok Sabha Election Outcomes: What Exit Polls Stated

The NDA was projected to win 33 seats from Bihar. That prediction is prone to maintain.

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INDIA was anticipated to win six seats, which too will in all probability be the case. The Congress has received two and is forward in a 3rd, whereas the RJD is main in 4 and the CPIML is forward in two.

Nitish Kumar And INDIA Bloc

The JDU boss is credited with the thought of INDIA, and was among the many first to achieve out to the Congress and the Gandhi household to recommend a nationwide grouping of anti-BJP events to defeat Mr Modi.

He travelled throughout the nation to fulfill senior opposition leaders, notably those that haven’t got one of the best relationship with the Congress and/or the Gandhi household; Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her Odisha counterpart, Naveen Patnaik, have been on that quick however essential checklist.

Nitish Kumar additionally helped pull collectively a motley crowd of opposition leaders, sit them down collectively, and get them questioning if they may, actually, cease the BJP’s election-winning equipment.

Because the election approached he was additionally talked about as a potential prime ministerial candidate.

All of that unraveled in a dramatic few days in January; Nitish Kumar stated he had chosen to stroll out of the INDIA bloc as a result of he was “dealing with difficulties in working with this alliance”.

“Once I defined this (to his occasion members), they suggested me to resign,” he stated.

On document Nitish Kumar stop the INDIA group due to continuous delays in seat-sharing talks between chief Congress and smaller events, together with the Samajwadi Social gathering in Uttar Pradesh, the Aam Aadmi Social gathering in Delhi and Punjab, and Bengal’s ruling Trinamool.

NDTV Explains | ‘Remaining Straw’ – A Tweet That Led To Shock Nitish Kumar Transfer

Off the document, there was hypothesis Nitish Kumar had stop as a result of he wouldn’t be chosen as Prime Minister ought to INDIA win. He was not even thought-about, sources had stated, to steer the bloc.

Sources additionally stated Nitish Kumar was upset with long-term frenemy Lalu Yadav’s RJD, which was an ally and member of the state authorities earlier than the JDU walked out of the INDIA group.

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