The day after the 18th Lok Sabha election results, the Capital was abuzz with the news that no party had achieved a majority on its own. However, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) emerged victorious with 293 seats, marking a historic win. This is the third consecutive win for the BJP, a feat previously achieved only by the Congress under Jawaharlal Nehru. The outcome surprised India’s citizens, analysts, and the parties themselves. Pre-election opinion polls had predicted a majority for the BJP, with one poll by Axis My India even suggesting 400 seats for the NDA. However, the alliance fell short of this mark.
There’s been unconfirmed talk of the TDP and JD(U) demanding plum portfolios (both finance and home have been mentioned by people familiar with the matter), as also the Speaker’s post, the last to insure themselves against the BJP’s known record at splitting parties (the Shiv Sena and the NCP being recent examples).
The BJP under Prime Minister Narendra Modi isn’t new to alliances, but it is new to having to depend on partners to make up the numbers. It won’t help that Naidu and Kumar see themselves as Modi’s peer, if not senior. The only other significant partners of the BJP, in terms of numbers, are Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (RV), with five MPs, and Jayant Chaudhary Rashtriya Lok Dal and HD Deve Gowda’s Janata Dal (Secular), with two each. All of them will want something in return for their support, which will make the government formation and portfolio allocation process interesting.
