Polls 2014: Potential partnerships between parties & their chances at government formation

A raft of opinion polls in the recent past suggests that the general elections due by May will throw up a hung parliament. Government formation will not be easy. The polls project the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by the BJP to garner more numbers than the Congressled United Progressive Alliance (UPA).

But the NDA faces a deficit of allies, a problem exacerbated by the projection of Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi as candidate for prime minister. Modi is not acceptable to many potential partners; Nitish Kumar’s JD (U) broke ranks after his elevation.

The Congress has a different dilemma. It will be woefully short of seats, according to the polls, which means that even if it manages to muster some support from whimsical partners, a majority (272 seats) would still be elusive.

Here we look at the potential partnerships between parties, their chances at government formation and the factors that will influence their decisions to side with one another.



Total Lok Sabha Seats: 543 * 4 seats vacant in current Lok Sabha