One was arrested eight months back and spent two months in jail in a corruption case probed by his arch-rival’s administration, the other was written off by many after the latest of his many flip-flops. The two have now emerged as kingmakers in this Lok Sabha election that have not given an absolute majority to the BJP. These two leaders are Bihar Chief Minister and JDU chief Nitish Kumar and Telugu Desam Party leader N Chandrababu Naidu.
Nearly 12 hours into the counting, TDP has won 16 seats on its own as the NDA dominated Andhra Pradesh with 21 wins out of 25 seats. In Bihar, Nitish Kumar’s JDU is set to win 12 seats, the same as BJP, despite contesting fewer constituencies than its ally.
As the poll picture became clearer by the evening, reports started doing the rounds that INDIA leaders are reaching out to the two veterans in their efforts to cobble together a majority. None of these were confirmed on record, as Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said they will hold a meeting with other INDIA allies tomorrow on the way forward.