New Delhi: Seventy-four-year old Narendra Modi will take oath as India's Prime Minister for the third time in a row on Sunday after President Droupadi Murmu on Friday appointed him the PM-designate following receipt of letters of support to the BJP from the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners.
The NDA has 293 MPs in the 543-member Lok Sabha, where 272 is the simple majority. The BJP with 240 parliamentarians is the single largest party of the bloc.
On the cusp of equalling Jawaharlal Nehru's record of returning to the PMO thrice, Modi today termed the NDA “an unbreakable bond of trust”, “an organic alliance driven by nation-first principle rather than power lust, “the most successful pre-poll alliance in India's coalition history” and a “synonym for good governance”.
Modi meets Advani, Joshi
Narendra Modi on Friday visited BJP veterans LK Advani and MM Joshi, both stalwarts of the erstwhile NDA, to seek their blessings before the PM-designate went to meet President Droupadi Murmu who invited him to form the next government.
President offers him curd
President Droupadi Murmu offered curd to PM-designate Modi after she invited him to form a government. The President will administer the oath of office and secrecy to the PM and other members of the Union Council of Ministers at 7.15 pm on Sunday.
“The responsibility the NDA leaders have given me today by electing me their leader shows that the NDA's 30-year-old ties of trust are strong. This is an unbreakable bond and my greatest asset… this is an emotional moment for me… Ours is an organic alliance driven by commitment to nation first not by power lust,” Modi said in his acceptance speech at the Central Hall of Parliament after the NDA allies elected him the leader of the parliamentary party in a firm show of unity.
Earlier, as soon as he arrived in Parliament, Modi bowed to the Constitution of India in a gesture that came amid reports that opposition INDIA bloc's narrative that the BJP wanted “400-plus seats to change the Constitution” had hurt saffron party's prospects in the LS poll.
In another message, Modi stressed the “stability of the upcoming government” in his two addresses on Friday. In Parliament, he recalled late NDA founders, including Atal Behari Vajpayee, Parkash Singh Badal and Balasaheb Thackeray, to say that the seeds they sowed had grown into a vast tree. In the evening as the PM-designate, Modi said due to the election of a stable government and a familiar leadership, the world was bound to court India more keenly and this would vastly benefit the state governments.
Speaking after key allies, TDP's N Chandrababu Naidu and JD(U)'s Nitish Kumar who flagged regional aspirations at the NDA parliamentary party meeting, Modi signalled a commitment to consensus.
“Governments are run by majority (bahumat), but nations by consensus (sarvamat),” he said, adding: “Regional aspirations and national interests should be so closely interwoven that even air does not pass through them.”
Going forward, Modi promised five years of “big decisions” coming down heavily on INDIA bloc for “hatching a conspiracy to defame Indian democracy globally by sowing seeds of doubt in people's minds about EVMs and the election process”.
“But the EVMs silenced them (opposition) on result day,” he said, adding: “We will again hear of EVMs in 2029.”
Importantly, the PM at one point in Parliament said, “In the last 10 years we bridged the gap between the people and the government. In the next 10 years, good governance, development and raising the quality of life of our people will be our priorities.” The remark, where Modi indicated his active political presence in India for the next decade, drew a thunderous applause from the NDA MPs.
The PM further delineated his approach saying making India the leader of the upcoming ‘green era' and the world's third largest economy would be his top goals and “he will move fast given 10 years of experience behind him”.
Amid talks of potential hurdles he might face negotiating a coalition government, the first in 10 years where allies would be needed for a majority, Modi said the NDA alliance was cohesive and the most successful pre-poll alliance ever.
“The NDA is in power in 22 states, serves seven of India's 10 tribal-dominated states, serves Goa and the North-East which have a Christian majority,” said Modi, adding that in 30 years, the NDA had completed three full terms and was entering upon its fourth.
Taking jibes at the Congress for failing to touch 100 seats in the Lok Sabha even after 10 years of sitting in the opposition, the PM-designate added: “The BJP has won more seats this time than what the Congress won in 2014, 2019 and 2024. First they were drowning, now they are headed down an abyss. They hatched a conspiracy to defame Indian democracy worldwide. They live in the past century, are anti-modernity, anti-progressivism and anti-technology. They gave speeches on the result eve to incite passions and chaos. But the world will now believe in the NDA's “maha vijay (massive win) and study it,” said Modi, adding that the “INDI bloc had begun to crumble, like he had predicted because it was cemented by power lust”.
The PM was referring to AAP's Thursday announcement to go solo in the Delhi Assembly poll after their pact with the Congress caused a rout in Delhi LS elections. “INDI Alliance will sit in the opposition because of their agenda of opposing one man — Narendra Modi,” a confident PM-designate said, advising his colleagues not to speculate on ministerial berths and not to trust anyone even if they got calls that they were being included in the NDA 3.0 Cabinet.
“Those who know Modi know…All my partners here will advise me well and we will make the right decisions,” he chuckled, looking at NDA friends and warning colleagues against “an army of gossip-mongers busy forming the Union Council of Ministers these days.”
