New Delhi, May 9: Opinions seem divided about the Lok Sabha elections results 2019 among partners of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Gulam Rasool Baliyavi, a legislator of Janata Dal-United, which is an important ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA in Bihar, said the coalition will fall short of a majority in Lok Sabha after elections. Baliyavi also said the NDA must project Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as the prime ministerial candidate.

Speaking to a news channel, Baliyavi also said the NDA was getting votes in the state due to the work done by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and not because of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Baliyavi is a prominent Muslim face of the JD-U and believed to be a close aide of Nitish Kumar. Earlier, JD-U national vice president Prashant Kishor said Kumar was not in the race for prime minister's post even if the NDA falls short of a majority. BJP May Fall Short of Majority But NDA Will Retain Power, Says Shiv Sena.

Asked about the chances of Kumar becoming the prime minister and he the deputy PM, in the event of the BJP not getting a clear mandate, Kishor, who joined the JD-U last September, said, “No discussion of the sort took place. Kumar is a big leader. Anybody who has ruled a major state like Bihar for close to 15 years is bound to have stature. But it would be unfair to him if we start considering him a claimant for the prime minister’s post."

"Narendra Modi is the NDA’s prime ministerial candidate and he will return as the Prime Minister again. Nitish Kumar will have a role to play, of course. Among NDA constituents, the JD(U) is the third largest after the BJP and the Shiv Sena. But nothing more should be read into this," he added.

On Monday, BJP General Secretary Ram Madhav, in an interview to Bloomberg, had said that "if we get 271 seats on our own, we will be very happy" and that "with NDA (National Democratic Alliance), we will have a comfortable majority". He, however, added that the loses would be recovered from states such as West Bengal and Odisha where the BJP "expanded" well. PM Modi Did in 5 Yrs What Congress Couldn't Do in 55: Ram Madhav.

Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut said that it looks a "bit difficult" for the BJP to reach the 280-seat mark as it did in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. Shiv Sena is a key ally of the NDA in Maharashtra, Raut, however, opined that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will retain power.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 09, 2019 04:27 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).