Chandrababu Naidu, Nitish Kumar praise Modi, want regional aspirations & national interests balanced
Aditi Tandon
New Delhi, June 7
The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) leaders on Friday assembled in a strong show of unity at the historic Central Hall of Parliament, unanimously endorsing Narendra Modi as their leader, paving the way for his anointment as Prime Minister for the third time, and signalling longevity of their grouping.
NDA win great opportunity
Modi is the right leader at the right time, will fulfil NT Rama Rao’s vision of humanism. — Chandrababu Naidu
We will stay with you, work with you, heed you. — Nitish Kumar
Shiv Sena-BJP bond is Fevicol ka jod. — Eknath Shinde
Hectic back-channel talks around government formation notwithstanding, key NDA leaders—TDP’s N Chandrababu Naidu and JD(U)’s Nitish Kumar—joined the BJP and NDA parliamentarians in giving a standing ovation to Modi as he entered the Central Hall to frenzied chants of “swagat hai bhai swagat hai, Modi ji ka swagat hai”, “phir ek baar, Modi sarkar”, “phir ek baar, NDA sarkar” and “Vande Mataram”. The occasion was the meeting of the NDA parliamentary party to elect Modi the leader.
The bloc’s two kingmakers clapped till Modi took his seat on the dais flanked by Naidu on one side and BJP chief JP Nadda on the other. Nine NDA leaders—Naidu, Nitish Kumar, JD(S)’ HD Kumaraswamy, Jana Sena’s Pawan Kalyan, NCP’s Ajit Pawar, Shiv Sena’s Eknath Shinde, LJP’s Chirag Paswan, HAM’s Jitan Manjhi and Apna Dal’s Anupriya Patel sat alongside Modi and top BJP brass, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Home Minister Amit Shah included.
RLD’s Jayant Choudhary sat among MPs though in the front row. After Rajnath Singh proposed the resolution electing Modi to three positions—leader of NDA parliamentary party, leader of BJP parliamentary party and leader of the Lok Sabha—Naidu was the first to endorse it on the NDA’s behalf.
Reminding the PM of the need to “balance regional aspirations with national interests when ensuring holistic development across all strata of society”, Naidu showered generous praises on Modi. “He is the right leader at the right time,” said the Telugu Desam Party president who will take oath as Andhra Pradesh CM on June 12 after the TDP-led NDA swept the state poll on June 4.
Terming the “historic NDA win under Modi as a very good opportunity”, Naidu said, “I proudly propose the name of Modi ji as our leader on the NDA’s behalf. This is a very good opportunity. If we miss, we will miss it forever… I have faith that Modi ji will fulfil my party founder NT Rama Rao’s vision of humanism.” The TDP supremo also mentioned three months of back-breaking electioneering by Modi saying it helped the NDA win 95 per cent of the seats in Andhra.
Coming after Naidu, Nitish Kumar, the leader known for serial desertions, made it clear that he would stay with the NDA “all the way”. Praising Modi, he said, “Modi ji has served the nation for 10 years. Whatever gaps are left, he (Modi) will cover in the next term, and by then few people who won here and there (opposition) will also lose.”
Nitish, in a show of loyalty to Modi (he was even seen bending to touch the PM’s feet on one occasion), declared: “We will stay with you, work with you, heed you….” In his inimitable style, though, the Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) chief made it a point to add: “‘Aur Bihar kaa sab kaam toh ho hi jayega’ (and all of Bihar’s pending works will anyway be done).”
Other allies rallied behind Modi too with Shinde describing the BJP-Shiv Sena pact as “Fevicol kaa mazboot jod” and Paswan addressing Modi as “my PM”. Anupriya Patel said Modi resided in the hearts of 140 crore Indians and Pawan Kalyan, instrumental in bringing Naidu and the BJP back together on the Lok Sabha poll eve, recalled Naidu’s 2014 prediction that “Modi will remain PM for 15 years.” “That’s now happening,” Kalyan said, crediting the NDA’s Andhra sweep to Modi.
