NDA Unanimously Elects Modi as Leader for Third Term, Securing Government Formation

The 15-party National Democratic Alliance (NDA) officially named Prime Minister Narendra Modi as its leader for a third consecutive term on Wednesday, initiating the formation of a new government under his leadership.

“We are all proud that the NDA fought the 2024 Lok Sabha polls unitedly under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and won. We, the leaders of the NDA, unanimously elect Narendra Modi as our leader,” declared a resolution in Hindi, endorsed by top NDA leaders.

This resolution emphasized the country’s comprehensive development over the past decade, attributing it to the pro-people policies of the NDA government under PM Modi. It highlighted the government’s dedication to serving the poor, women, youth, farmers, and marginalized sections of society.

The meeting, convened by PM Modi, saw attendance from 21 leaders, including key figures such as Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal (United) leader Nitish Kumar, Telugu Desam Party chief N Chandrababu Naidu, and Maharashtra CM and Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde. These three leaders are crucial for their numbers in the alliance. The TDP secured 16 Lok Sabha seats (along with two seats won by its partner, the Jana Sena, totaling 18), the JD(U) won 12 seats, and the Shiv Sena won 7 seats. Adding these 37 seats to the BJP’s 240 seats comfortably surpasses the majority threshold of 272.

Other notable NDA allies in terms of parliamentary strength include Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (RV) with 5 MPs, and Jayant Chaudhary’s Rashtriya Lok Dal and HD Deve Gowda’s Janata Dal (Secular), each with 2 MPs.

The NDA meeting occurred just hours after PM Modi officially submitted his resignation to President Droupadi Murmu, along with the Union Cabinet’s decision to dissolve the 17th Lok Sabha. President Murmu accepted PM Modi’s resignation and requested him to remain in office until the new government is constituted.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged as the single largest party with 240 seats, falling 32 seats short of the majority mark. However, with support from MPs of 14 other parties, the NDA’s total reached 293 seats in the 543-member Lok Sabha.

With the NDA securing 293 seats, PM Modi is set to become only the second Prime Minister after Jawaharlal Nehru to secure a third consecutive term. Nevertheless, the BJP’s failure to achieve an outright majority independently places PM Modi at the mercy of his unpredictable allies, Nitish Kumar and Chandrababu Naidu.