On Wednesday, the 15-party National Democratic Alliance (NDA) chose Prime Minister Narendra Modi as their leader for a third consecutive term, starting the process of forming a new government under his leadership. This positions Modi to become only the second Prime Minister after Jawaharlal Nehru to secure three consecutive terms.
Modi was accompanied by key allies such as TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu, JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar, and Shiv Sena (Shinde) chief Eknath Shinde during the NDA meeting at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg, New Delhi. A resolution passed by the top NDA leaders stated, "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."
The resolution highlighted the NDA government's achievements over the past 10 years, attributing the country's development to its pro-people policies. It emphasized the government's commitment to serving the poor, women, youth, farmers, and deprived sections of society.
Among the 21 leaders who attended the meeting were Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Telugu Desam Party chief N Chandrababu Naidu, and Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde. The TDP won 16 Lok Sabha seats, with its partner Jana Sena winning 2 more, making it 18. The JD(U) secured 12 seats, and Shiv Sena won 7. These 37 seats, combined with the BJP’s 240, put the NDA safely above the majority mark of 272 seats in the Lok Sabha.
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Other significant allies 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. This brings the NDA’s total to 293 seats, ensuring a majority in the 543-member Lok Sabha.
The NDA meeting took place hours after PM Modi formally handed over his resignation to President Droupadi Murmu. He also conveyed the Union Cabinet’s decision to dissolve the 17th Lok Sabha. President Murmu accepted PM Modi’s resignation and asked him to continue in office until the new government is formed.
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While the Bharatiya Janata Party emerged as the largest party with 240 seats, it fell short of the majority mark by 32 seats. Despite this, with support from allies, the NDA’s total of 293 seats secures Modi's position for a third term. However, the BJP's inability to win an outright majority means Modi will need to maintain strong relationships with key allies like Nitish Kumar and Chandrababu Naidu.
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