As the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) fell short of breaching the majority mark of 272 by winning 240 seats, a far narrower outcome than what was expected, both the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc scrambled their resources to get the majority and stake claim for the government.

According to the final results declared by the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Wednesday, the INDIA bloc won 232 seats with the Congress alone securing 99. The BJP won 240 seats, falling short of the majority mark of 272. The 2024 results were a far cry from the 303 and 282 seats the BJP had won in 2019 and 2014, respectively, to have a majority on its own.

However, the NDA collectively won 292 seats still standing comfortably in a majority position.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to form a government at the Centre for a third consecutive term despite his NDA falling of expectations in the face of a surprisingly strong showing by the INDIA bloc, as well as crushing losses in key states like Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and West Bengal.

Also Read: Election Results 2024: Modi 3.0 to bank on Chandrababu Naidu, Nitish Kumar

Now, two NDA allies, TDP’s Chandrababu Naidu and JDU’s Nitish Kumar, hold the key to the doors to power.

While the two contested the general election in an alliance with the BJP, the INDIA bloc leaders are learnt to have reached out to coalition-era veterans to woo them into the Opposition bloc. As the numbers stack up, INDIA needs the support of both JDU and TDP and a bunch of unaligned MPs, to clinch a majority. The BJP being unable to form the government is still a possibility and things can turn in any direction.

The day after the results, leaders of both NDA and INDIA alliances are flying to Delhi to hold discussions on the way forward. Nitish Kumar is also on his way to Delhi.

Meanwhile, while addressing the media, TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu also said that he would be leaving for Delhi shortly to hold meetings.

Nitish Kumar’s close aide and JDU leader KC Tyagi told news agency ANI yesterday that the party will stay in NDA and rejected any speculation of a switch to the INDIA bloc. The other kingmaker, Naidu, also congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi on NDA’s stunning show in Andhra Pradesh and said TDP and BJP will rebuild the state together.