Dismissing rumours and speculations that Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal-United (JDU) is switching sides to join the opposition INDIA bloc, party leader KC Tyagi on Tuesday said that they are in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and "we will be in the NDA".
"It is our final decision," Tyagi told PTI Videos when asked about suggestions that the JDU may return to the INDIA bloc. The latest vote-counting trends suggest a clear victory for the NDA, but the BJP may fall short of the majority mark.
Given the track record of Nitish Kumar's JDU, there were speculations that the party would switch sides to the INDIA bloc after its improved performance in Lok Sabha Elections 2024. However, the senior JDU leader maintained the party's stance and affirmed that Nitish Kumar's party will remain in NDA.
"It is our final decision. We are in the NDA and we will be in the NDA," Tyagi said when asked about the speculation. Earlier, JDU was a part of the INDIA bloc. However, last year, Nitish Kumar switched sides to form a new government in Bihar before the Lok Sabha Elections 2024.
The Lok Sabha has 543 seats, with Uttar Pradesh and Bihar sending 80 and 40 MPs, respectively. Polls were held for 542 seats, with the BJP winning the Surat seat uncontested earlier.
Expressing confidence in JDU's better performance in Bihar, Tyagi said that the counting is underway and JDU is "maintaining lead in 13 of 16 seats (it contested in Bihar)."
On the overall trends, he said, “The verdict of the people is paramount. Under the leadership of Narendra Modi, for the third time, the NDA government will be formed.”
“We respect the decisions of the people ('Janata ke sabhi faislon ka hum aadar aur satkar karte hain')”. On the national level, the NDA led by Narendra Modi has been "successful" in getting a mandate and "we welcome it", he added.
KC Tyagi gave the credit for UP's unpredicted results to the Samajwadi Party. “The SP's social engineering in UP, booth chemistry, changed this time. This is the result of that.” The JDU leader said it is the only party in Bihar that works for social justice and the poor, and advocates secularism.
