JDU appoints Sanjay Kumar Jha as working president; Nitish to continue as national president
The issue of special status and economic package for Bihar was also discussed in the meeting.
After the narrower than expected victory of Narendra Modi-led BJP in the Lok Sabha elections 2024, both the ruling NDA and the Opposition’s INDIA bloc have called meetings of alliance partners to plan their next move.
Bihar Chief Minister and JD-U president Nitish Kumar arrived in the national capital on Wednesday to attend NDA’s meeting, likely to be held at 4 PM today.
Interestingly, his former deputy and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, who also arrived in the national capital to take part in the INDIA bloc meeting, was also on the same flight.
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TV visuals showed Tejashwi Yadav and Nitish Kumar sitting on the same flight, less than three feet away from each other.
Nitish Kumar, along with TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu, is set to play kingmaker after the BJP failed to secure a majority on its own. The saffron party won 240 seats – 32 short of the majority mark of 272 in a 543-member Lok Sabha.
Nitish Kumar is infamous for switching sides and this habit has earned him the moniker of “palturam” (one who changes sides frequently) in the country’s politics.
The Congress has not made any public remarks on reaching out to Nitish Kumar or Naidu but the grand old party is believed to have started sending feelers to the NDA allies.
Media reports claimed that some of the Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) faction MPs are in touch with the Uddhav Thackeray faction.
‘We are in NDA,’ says Naidu
Meanwhile, TDP supremo Chandrababu Naidu has said that he is with the NDA. Addressing reporters in Vijayawada, the TDP boss confirmed his participation in the NDA’s meeting today.
“I am experienced and I have seen several political changes in this country. We are in NDA, I’m going to the NDA meeting,” Naidu told reporters.
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