Kapil Sibal said, ‘Hopefully Nitish and Naidu will maintain the values they have stood for.’
After the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) missed the majority mark in the Lok Sabha elections, Janata Dal-United (JDU) chief Nitish Kumar and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief Chandrababu Naidu have emerged as potential “kingmakers”. On Wednesday, Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal said he hoped the two leaders would uphold the values they upheld as chief ministers.
Addressing the media here in the national capital, Sibal said, “Nitish Kumar and Chandrababu Naidu have always maintained the federal structure… A few years ago, Naiduji had said that a dictatorial government cannot run. And whatever the ED and CBI are doing without the consent of the states is not acceptable.”
He said, “I salute him for upholding those values and hope that he will continue to uphold the values that he stood for as Chief Minister…”
The counting of votes for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections took place on Tuesday. According to the Election Commission of India, the BJP won 240 seats, much less than the 303 seats it won in 2019. On the other hand, the Congress registered a strong lead by winning 99 seats. The Bharat Bloc crossed the 230 mark, facing tough competition and defying all predictions.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has secured a third term, but the BJP will need the support of other parties in his alliance – mainly JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar and TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu.
JDU got 12 seats in Bihar, while Naidu’s TDP got 16 seats in Andhra Pradesh.
Meanwhile, the TDP chief has vowed to support the BJP and said he is “part of the NDA.”
Expressing his support for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) while addressing a press conference in Vijayawada, Naidu said, “I have seen a lot of political changes in the country. I am in the NDA. I am going to the NDA meeting. If there is anything else, we will let you know.”
JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar, who was coincidentally on the same flight to Delhi with RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav, is expected to submit the letter of support to the BJP later on Wednesday.
Earlier this year, Kumar had joined the BJP-led NDA after differences with the RJD, which led to the collapse of the government in Bihar.
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