In a surprising development, renowned parliamentarian Manoj Kumar Jha has said that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and TDP leader Chandrababu Naidu are poised to leave the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA to form a government with the INDIA coalition, Economic Times reported.
This move is attributed to their shared aversion to what they perceive as the BJP’s vendetta politics, according to RJD national spokesperson Manoj Kumar Jha.
Jha referenced Kumar’s prediction that “those who came to power will be ousted in 2024” and noted his foundational role in creating the INDIA bloc.
“We have previously allied with both Nitish Kumar and Chandrababu Naidu. They share a dislike for the vendetta politics the BJP is known for. Narendra Modi seems to be on his way out, and we hope these leaders will play a key role in the change of guard at the Centre,” Jha told PTI.
When questioned about whether RJD leaders, including national president Lalu Prasad and Tejashwi Yadav, were in touch with Kumar, Jha cryptically responded, “Those who need to contact him are talking to him. Our leader Tejashwi Yadav has been saying for some time that Nitish Kumar will make a significant decision around June 4.”
Jha clarified that he was not directly appealing to Kumar or Naidu but was merely expressing hope based on his understanding of their dispositions.
Notably, the JD(U) outperformed expectations in the Lok Sabha elections, leading in 14 of the 16 seats it contested, surpassing the BJP, which was trailing in five out of the 17 seats it contested, while TDS is leading on 20 seats in Andhra Pradesh.
The Bharatiya Janata Party is currently leading in 240 seats, thirty-three (33) seats short of a majority, while the INDIA alliance is ahead in 235 seats, with the majority threshold being 273 seats.
In Bihar, the INDIA bloc led in only eight out of 40 Lok Sabha seats. However, Jha expressed confidence that the coalition’s numbers would improve despite his concerns about the slow counting process.
Kumar’s JD(U) was initially part of the INDIA bloc, a coalition of opposition parties formed to challenge the BJP-led NDA ahead of the 2024 elections. Kumar, known for his frequent political realignments, left the INDIA bloc to rejoin the NDA a few months before the polls.