NDA or INDI Alliance? With 12 seats in kitty, Nitish Kumar's 'Paltu Ram' tag keeps BJP on the edge

The BJP is trying to stitch tight its alliance to form the government as the party failed to get the majority on its own in the Lok Sabha elections. Now, a close eye is on JD(U) whose leader Nitish Kumar, who has a long history of switching alliances often and has earned the nickname 'Paltu Ram'.

Though Nitish Kumar joined the NDA before the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections and had promised Prime Minister Narendra Modi that he won’t change sides this time, suspense grew again on Wednesday morning when the Bihar chief minister took the same flight with Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and INDIA bloc member Tejashwi Yadav.

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JD(U) clarifies Nitish Kumar's stand

Amid this ongoing high-octane tension and speculation, senior Janata Dal (United) leader KC Tyagi spoke with News18 and said Nitish's party "will continue to be the part of NDA".

"We are happy with the outcome of the result. NDA has been able to cross the magic number of 272 and under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we will be able for the government. JD(U) is and will continue to be the part of NDA," Tyagi said.

"NDA government can only bring justice to Bihar," the JD(U) leader added.

Tyagi has been persistently mentioning that as far as the formation of the government is concerned, they will be discussing all their demands with the BJP-led NDA and no such talk will be done with the INDI Alliance.

Why JD(U) support is important for NDA?

As per the Election Commission of India (ECI), BJP has bagged 240 seats in the Lok Sabha election 2024, which is shy of 32 from the halfway mark of 272. To form the government, BJP will have to depend on its alliance.

However, with the support of alliance partners, NDA has managed to win 292 seats which is comfortably above the magical mark of 272.

Meanwhile, the opposition bloc -- I.N.D.I.A -- led by the Congress has sealed victory on 234 seats which is considerably lower than the halfway mark.

In Bihar, there are 40 Lok Sabha seats of which JD(U) sealed victory in 12 seats, while BJP won 12.

Other NDA partners in Bihar -- Chirag Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) and Jitan Ram Manjhi's Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) -- have won five and one seats respectively.

A report by India Today quoted sources as saying that the JD(U) has demanded 3 Cabinet seats from NDA in the new government.