Amid ongoing political speculations, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Thursday, June 6, clarified that the INDIA alliance has not yet discussed the possibility of sacrificing the Prime Minister post for TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu or Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Speaking to reporters, Raut emphasized that no such discussions have taken place within the alliance so far.
After the INDIA alliance meeting, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said that we will decide at the appropriate time regarding forming the government.
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“There have been no such discussions so far...We have said before that PM Modi has more numbers, around 240 seats. So we said 'pehle aap, unke baad hum' (first you, then us)...Teesri kasam (oath for the third time) unko lene ki ichcha hai, unhe lene do, phir chauthi kasam ke baare mein hum soch lenge' (if Modi wishes to take the third oath, let him do so; we will think about the fourth oath later),” Raut stated.
The statement comes in the wake of the 18th Lok Sabha election results, where the BJP emerged as the largest party with 240 seats, although short of an outright majority. The NDA alliance, however, secured a clear majority with 293 seats, supported by allies like TDP and JDU, which collectively contribute 28 seats.
PM Modi Likely take Oath on June 9
In the NDA meeting on Wednesday, JDU and TDP signed the support letter for NDA. Along with them are LJP (Ram Vilas Paswan), Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde), HAM, and Apna Dal, among several other parties. Narendra Modi likely to take the oath as Prime Minister on June 9.