As BJP falls short of majority, ally leaders Nitish Kumar, Chandrababu Naidu emerge as kingmakers

Even as the counting of votes continues, the report card shows PM Modi's '400 paar' call is far from reality with the NDA looking to finish somewhere close to 300.

The BJP is at 240-plus, far below the magic figure of 272. The drop is seen as a culmination of a boost to the Opposition. The Congress alone expects to win 100 seats, up from the 52 it won in 2019, and regional parties are doing exceptionally well in several states.

With a slew of exit polls that gave a clear majority to Modi proving wrong, even in the win of the NDA, the celebrations are louder in the opposition INDIA bloc led by Congress after they bagged a higher-than-expected number of seats.

In Andhra Pradesh, TDP has won 16 seats on its own with NDA winning 21 out of 25 seats.

In Bihar, Nitish Kumar's JDU is set to win 12 seats, the same as BJP, despite contesting fewer constituencies than its ally.

As the poll picture became clearer by the evening, reports started doing the rounds that INDIA bloc leaders reached out to the two veterans in their efforts to bring them together for a possible government formation.

None of these were confirmed on record, as Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said they will hold a meeting with other INDIA allies on Wednesday on the way forward.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked his allies Nitish Kumar and Chandrababu Naidu as he headed to lead a coalition government of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

The low score for the BJP at 240 plus means that it would have to bank on its allies heavily to form the government, something the party has not done since 2019.

After winning 303 seats in 2019, the BJP had rationed the cabinet berths for allies, a factor that had upset Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

Therefore it is not a surprise for PM Modi to mention in his victory speech not only Nitish Kumar but also Andhra Pradesh ally Chandrababu Naidu, who, together, could add 28 seats to the NDA tally. The majority mark in the 545-member Lok Sabha is 272.

Kumar's latest switch to the NDA, months after he led the efforts to stitch together an Opposition alliance, had drawn much ridicule, with many writing his political obituary.

After decades of leading the NDA in Bihar, Kumar had to settle with a smaller number of seats in Bihar.

However, with this mandate, the JDU chief now holds the upper hand.

Chandrababu Naidu, on the other hand, was arrested eight months back and spent two months in jail in a corruption case probed by his arch-rival's administration.