Typo? Giriraj Singh Keeps Social Media Guessing Over '303' Post, Deletes It Later

A cryptic post (now deleted) in relation to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) by outgoing Union Minister Giriraj Singh set the internet abuzz on Wednesday, with netizens wondering if there were any coalition surprises awaiting them a day after the Lok Sabha election results were announced.

“NDA:- 303,” the outgoing minister of rural development and panchayati raj posted on X, just minutes after the NDA held a high-profile meeting at the PM’s house in New Delhi. The text did not elaborate on what Singh was referring to, leaving users guessing.

The post by Singh, who was re-elected from his seat in Bihar’s Begusarai on Tuesday, accompanied a group photo of alliance bigwigs, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as well as the text of a resolution by the bloc that selected him as the coalition leader, and a list of attendees at the NDA meeting.

Almost immediately, Singh followed it up with another post featuring the same images, but this time he said in the text, “NDA 3.0”. It was seen as a reference to the third straight term for the alliance. He then deleted his previous post.

Singh’s “303” post which came amid the alliance talks assumes significance in light of the election results that gave the NDA 292 of India’s 543 Lok Sabha seats, 20 more than the majority mark. The Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) won 240 seats on its own — and is set to form the government with allies, including Telugu Desam Party boss Chandrababu Naidu, who won 16 seats, and Janata Dal (United) leader Nitish Kumar, whose party contributed 12 seats to the NDA kitty. PM Modi could take oath for a historic third term over the weekend.

In all, the tally of declared NDA allies stood below 300, an outcome that the Opposition described as its moral victory. In such a backdrop, Singh’s X post fanned speculations, with a section of netizens wondering if there were new inclusions in the NDA.

Several X handles that claimed to be associated with the BJP floated a theory saying some Independent candidates and smaller parties would back the NDA.

An influencer, who goes by the name of “BhikuMhatre”, supported this theory. His recent arrest by the Karnataka Police over an alleged post on the Congress manifesto had drawn condemnation from some BJP leaders. News18 could not independently verify the claim of new entrants into the alliance. There was no confirmation or immediate comment by the NDA.