Narendra Modi unanimously elected as leader of NDA Parliamentary party; Chandrababu Naidu, Nitish Kumar back his name

TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu, Janata Dal (United) leader Nitish Kumar, JD(S) MP-elect HD Kumaraswamy and other leaders part of the NDA supported the proposal of naming Narendra Modi as the ‘eader of the alliance in Parliament at a key meeting of the bloc on Friday, days after Lok Sabha elections results were announced.

The meeting was held on Friday at the Samvidhan Sadan of the Parliament building where Narendra Modi was later unanimously elected as the leader of Lok Sabha, leader of the BJP and leader of the NDA Parliamentary Party. Narendra Modi was also present at the NDA meeting.

The prime minister was welcomed with chants of ‘Modi Modi’ as he arrived to join the meeting. Modi also touched the Constitution of India with his forehead.

TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu said, “We are congratulating all of us as we have won a wonderful majority. I have seen during the election campaign, for three months PM Modi never took any rest. Day and night he has campaigned. He stated and ended with the same spirit. In Andhra Pradesh, we had three public meetings and one big rally and it has made a huge difference in winning the election in Andhra Pradesh…”

After the BJP failed to cross the halfway mark needed to form a government of its own, it had to depend on allies TDP and JD(U).

BJP MP Rajnath Singh, addressing the gathering, said, “I want to congratulate all the newly elected MPs…Today, we are here to elect the leader of the NDA. I believe that PM Narendra Modi’s name is the most suitable for all these posts…”

BJP national president JP Nadda said, “The NDA got a majority in the Lok Sabha Elections, and we also formed our government in Odisha. I am happy to inform you that the NDA government was also formed in Andhra Pradesh. In Arunachal Pradesh, too, we formed our Government for the third time. In Sikkim, the NDA formed its government, too.

“We remember that 10 years ago, there was an indifferent India, it was said about India that nothing was going to change here and today, 10 years later, under the leadership of PM Modi, the same India has become an aspiring India and has set out with the resolution of a developed India…,” Nadda said.

Modi was greeted by Chandrababu Naidu and Nitish Kumar, among other leaders, at the meeting. Nationalist Congress Party (NCP- Ajit Pawar) Chief Ajit Pawar, Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) chief Chirag Paswan were also present at the meeting.

Former Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy affirmed that his party’s support to Modi and the NDA to form a “stable government”.

On Wednesday, leaders of parties in the NDA held a meeting and elected Modi as their leader. Modi later said NDA will work towards building a developed India.

Narendra Modi will take oath as Prime Minister for the third time on Sunday, senior BJP leader Pralhad Joshi said at the NDA parliamentary party meeting.

The oath-taking ceremony will take place at 6pm on June 9, Joshi told the NDA leaders assembled here at the Central Hall of the old Parliament Building to elect Modi as their leader.