'Now, over to them': AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj to TDP, JD(U) as BJP staggers to majority

New Delhi: As the BJP appears to fall short of majority, Aam Aadmi Party leader Saurabh Bharadwaj on Tuesday said the ball was now in the court of NDA allies N. Chandrababu Naidu's TDP and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JD(U) who once united the opposition against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) was leading on 16 seats in Andhra Pradesh while the Janata Dal (United) was leading on 14 seats, as per the initial trends shown on the Election Commission of India's website.

Taking to his social media handle on X, Bharadwaj reposed his faith in the TDP and JD(U) leadership to prevent the BJP from forming its government.

"Interesting facts - In 2019, Mr. Chandrababu Naidu visited all opposition leaders to unite them against Modi and in 2024 Mr Nitish Kumar visited all opposition leaders to unite them against Modi. Now, over to them," he wrote alongside a picture of the two leaders shaking hands.

Interesting facts - In 2019, Mr.Chandrababu Naidu visited all opposition leaders to unite them against Modi and in 2024 Mr Nitish Kumar visited all opposition leaders to unite them against Modi.

Now, over to them pic.twitter.com/MGnaO820Iq

— Saurabh Bharadwaj (@Saurabh_MLAgk) June 4, 2024

Early trends from the counting of votes on Tuesday threw up disappointing results for the BJP-led NDA, which appears to be losing heavily in its strongholds of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan. However, it is expected to form the government with about 290 seats.

On its own, the BJP appeared to be falling below the majority mark with leads in 240 seats despite significant gains in Odisha, Telangana and Kerala, giving some solace to the party after the unexpected losses in the Hindi belt.