Key members of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance today backed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a third consecutive term. TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu and JDU’s Nitish Kumar publicly accepted the proposal to elect Mr Modi as the alliance’s prime ministerial candidate.
“Today India is having a right leader at the right time. We are very confident under his leadership India will become the 1st or 2nd largest economy in the next 5 years,” Mr Naidu said at a NDA meet in New Delhi.
Nitish Kumar, in his speech, hit out at the Opposition INDIA alliance and said that his party will be with PM Modi at all times.
“Opposition bloc has not done any work for country, I will be with PM Modi at all times. All the pending works of Bihar will be done. It is a very good thing that all of us have come together and we will all work together with you (PM Modi),” Mr Kumar said.
The remarks come amid speculation that the two parties are seeking key portfolios in the new cabinet, which will be sworn in on Sunday.
The NDA clinched 293 seats in the 543-member Lok Sabha, marking a significant victory. Unlike the BJP’s dominance in the last two terms, the party secured only 240 seats, falling short of the 272 needed for a majority government.
Crucial to the BJP’s path to majority are four allies: Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP with 16 seats, Nitish Kumar’s JDU with 12, Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena with 7, and Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party-Ram Vilas with 5.
