Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is poised to assume a significant role as the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), appears to be trailing significantly from its "Abki Baar 400 Paar" assertion. In reality, the NDA might fall short of the 300-seat threshold if current trends persist.
Nitish Kumar, who has a history of changing sides at key moments, may play a crucial role as the INDIA bloc becomes a massive force across the country. BJP, which had been the dominant force in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) for the past decade, now finds itself relying on allies Nitish Kumar and Chandrababu Naidu to secure a majority and form the next government at the Centre. Interestingly, both these regional leaders joined the ruling alliance just before the Lok Sabha elections.
Nitish Kumar returned to the NDA fold after parting ways with Lalu's RJD in Bihar, while Chandrababu Naidu rekindled ties with the BJP-led alliance after a 10-year hiatus. With the BJP currently struggling to reach the 272-seat mark independently, it will require support from these two regional leaders to establish the NDA-3 government. Notably, the previous NDA governments, NDA 1 and NDA 2, were largely dominated by the BJP, securing 282 and 303 Lok Sabha seats respectively in 2014 and 2019.