Lok Sabha Election Results: Sharad Pawar Dials Nitish Kumar, Chandrababu Naidu; Makes Offer To Join INDIA Bloc

Nationalist Congress Party (SCP) Chief Sharad Pawar has dialed JD(U) Chief Nitish Kumar and TDP Chief N Chandrababu Naidu, both part of the NDA alliance led by the BJP, to join the INDIA bloc, reports said. The calls were made on Thursday afternoon after the election results showed a tight contest between the NDA and INDIA bloc, with NDA having a slight edge over the opposition alliance. 

Reports stated that Sharad Pawar offered Nitish Kumar the Deputy Prime Minister post if he joins the INDIA bloc. Meanwhile, Chandrababu Naidu has been promised special status for Andhra Pradesh, a longstanding demand. There is however no clarity on what the two leaders have told Pawar. 

At the time of this report being prepared, NDA was leading on 300 seats, while INDIA bloc was leading on 230 seats. While NDA was well ahead of 272 mark, INDIA still needed 40 odd seats to reach majority.