Rajnath Singh proposes Modi’s name for top post, NDA leaders support

New Delhi, June 7

Senior BJP leader Rajnath Singh on Friday proposed Narendra Modi’s name as the leader of the NDA Parliamentary Party and the proposal was seconded by his party colleagues Amit Shah and Nitin Gadkari as well as top NDA leaders.

At a meeting of the NDA parliamentary party here at the central hall of old Parliament house, Singh also credited Modi for expanding the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance and said this grouping is not a compulsion but a commitment for the BJP.

After Shah, Gadkari also seconded the three proposals made by Singh to make Modi the leader of the BJP in Lok Sabha, of the NDA parliamentary party and the BJP parliamentary party.

Senior NDA leaders, including H D Kumaraswamy, Chandrababu Naidu and Nitish Kumar, also supported the resolutions, paving the way for Modi to become prime minister for the third time.

PM Modi would take oath as the PM for third time on June 9 at 6 pm, said BJP leader Pralhad Joshi at NDA parliamentary party meeting.

He is also likely to meet President Droupadi Murmu later in the day to stake claim of forming a new NDA government.

The BJP has been engaged with alliance partners TDP, JD(U) and other parties like the LJP since the Lok Sabha elections results were declared on June 4, to firm up the grouping and stake claim to form the government.

The NDA won 293 seats in the 543-member Lok Sabha. The BJP, which enjoyed a handsome majority in the previous two terms, secured only 240 seats, way behind the 272 mark needed to form a government in its own right.

The four allies whose support is critical for the BJP to reach the majority are N Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP, which has won 16 seats, Nitish Kumar’s JDU (12), Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena (7) and Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party-Ram Vilas (5).

The allies are likely to finalise the portfolios in the yet to be formed union cabinet during the meeting.

However according to sources, the BJP is keen to keep the top four portfolios namely home, defence, finance and external affairs with itself.

TDP is learnt to be keen on the finance ministry and the Speaker’s post while the JD(U) is interested in railways and rural development ministries.

N Chandrababu Naidu and Nitish Kumar, both coalition-era veterans, conducted discussions with their party leaders ahead of the NDA meeting today.

With PTI inputs