Election 2024 Results: Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday talked about the strong performance of the opposition India Bloc and hinted that they may try some political engineering to form the next government at the Centre. Uddhav Thackeray said that Congress and other India Bloc leaders are in talks with NDA allies like JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar and TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders’ remarks come at a time when the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is stuck at 240 seats, well short of the majority mark of 272. The National Democratic Alliance is hovering around 290 seats, which means they will form the next government for the third consecutive time, but the India Bloc is exploring the possibility of some talks with Nitish Kumar and Chandrababu Naidu.
Uddhav Thackeray further said that they need to stake claim to form the next government at the Centre, and it appears that the BJP-led NDA has the numbers to form the next government. Speaking on the future plans of the opposition alliance, Uddhav Thackeray said that the top leaders of the India Block will meet on June 5 and take a decision. This development comes at a time when BJP and India Block leaders have tried to contact the JD(U) and TDP chief.
After the India Bloc’s impressive performance in the Lok Sabha elections, former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray said the opposition alliance should stake claim to form the government at the Centre. “We should stake claim to form the government. I will go to Delhi tomorrow evening. The exact numbers have not been released yet,” Uddhav Thackeray said. He also alleged that the only reason the BJP has allies is because they are “scared” of the party. He also accused the saffron party of “harassing” Chandrababu Naidu. The BJP fought the Lok Sabha and assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh in alliance with Naidu’s Telugu Desam Party (TDP).
Numbers game
The India Bloc will have 235 seats in the 18th Lok Sabha and it remains to be seen if they can break the NDA and get the crucial support of the JD(U), which is currently winning or leading on 12 seats and the TDP which is winning or leading on 16 seats. Even if the two parties agree to join the India Bloc, the opposition alliance will need the support of several smaller parties and independent candidates to even think about forming the next government at the Centre.
When asked about future plans, senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said, “We will have a meeting with our alliance partners tomorrow. These questions will be raised and answered there…I respect my alliance partners and we will not make any statement without asking our alliance partners.”
