NEW DELHI/ HYDERABAD, INDIA:
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s coalition parties on Thursday demanded more funds for their regional states as well as federal cabinet posts as negotiations to form a coalition government began.
Modi was named the leader of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) on Wednesday after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lost its absolute majority and found itself relying on the support of regional parties – mainly the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the Janata Dal ( United). ).
The NDA won 293 seats in the 543-member lower house of parliament, where 272 constitute a simple majority.
But Modi’s BJP won only 240, making TDP leader Chandrababu Naidu and JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar, also the chief of the eastern state of Bihar, kings in the alliance with 16 and 12 seats respectively.
The TDP also won regional elections in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh and Naidu is set to become chief minister there.
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Both parties are pushing long-standing demands for special status in their states, according to a TDP spokesperson and five NDA sources.
The special status allows states to receive more federal development funds and on simpler terms. While Bihar is India’s poorest state, Andhra Pradesh lost some of its resources in 2014 when the new state of Telangana was carved out of it.
Apart from special status and cabinet posts, the TDP is also seeking more funds for irrigation projects in Andhra Pradesh and to complete the building of its new capital, Amaravati, two sources familiar with the matter said. Reuters.
“This is not the first time we are in the NDA, so we are confident that we will get our due,” TDP spokesperson Jyothsna Thirunagari said.
“In our previous stints with the NDA, we had ministerial posts and also the Lok Sabha [lower house] speaker from our party. This time we are a strong partner and share a clear vision for the country,” he said.
JD(U)’s Kumar also wants support for new industrial projects in Bihar along with federal cabinet posts, an NDA source said.
Coalition negotiations begin
Top BJP leaders were to discuss ministerial portfolios with allies on Thursday, a day before Modi is expected to meet President Draupadi Murmu to stake his claim to form the next government, a BJP source said.
The negotiations are a throwback to an era before 2014 – when Modi came to power with an absolute BJP majority – in which alliance partners haggled for positions and benefits in exchange for supporting coalition governments.
The loss of its majority to the BJP jittered markets and raised the prospect of a government less stable and confident than the outgoing one.
But Shivraj Singh Chouhan, a senior BJP leader and newly elected MP, told CNN-News18 television that the new Modi government will last its entire five-year term and “come back with a better performance”.
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A survey published on Thursday showed that a lack of jobs, high inflation and falling incomes had cost Modi votes, even though he still enjoyed widespread support personally.
About 30 percent of voters said they were worried about inflation, compared to 20 percent before the election, according to the Lokniti-CSDS post-election survey published by the Hindu newspaper.
In a survey of Hindus conducted before the elections, unemployment was the main concern of 32% of respondents.
Declining income and the government’s handling of corruption and fraud were other issues of concern, the survey found.
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