PM Modi meets L K Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi; outgoing Cabinet resigns

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met the President on Friday evening and tendered his resignation, along with his council of ministers, a Rashtrapati Bhavan communique said. It said, and as is customary, the President accepted the resignation and requested Modi and the council of ministers to continue till the new government assumes office. 

The President will invite Modi to form the government after newly elected MPs of the Bharatiya Janata Party- (BJP-) led National Democratic Alliance meet on Saturday in Parliament's Central Hall to elect him their leader. 

BJP sources said the PM could take oath of office next week, possibly on Thursday. He could also visit his home state, Gujarat, and his Lok Sabha constituency of Varanasi before that. 

Earlier in the evening, the Cabinet recommended to the President that the 16th Lok Sabha be dissolved. The 16th Lok Sabha expires on June 3, and the next Lok Sabha should be in place by then. The process to form a new House will be initiated when the three Election Commissioners meet the President in the next few days to hand over the list of newly elected members. 

Over the next few days, the PM and BJP President Amit Shah will sit together to pick their new council of ministers. It is expected that the two would give more representation to West Bengal, Odisha and Telangana and also to Haryana, Jharkhand and Maharashtra where elections are due by October. 

PM Narendra Modi being offered sweets by BJP's senior leader MM Joshi as the party President Amit Shah looks on after their victory in the Lok Sabha elections, in New Delhi | PTI

In the morning, the PM and the BJP chief called on party veterans L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi to seek their blessings. Accompanied by Shah, Modi visited Advani's house where he touched the feet of the veteran BJP leader. 

Later in a tweet, Modi said, "Called on respected Advani Ji. The BJP's successes today are possible because greats like him spent decades building the party and providing a fresh ideological narrative to the people." 

After meeting Advani, Modi and Shah drove to Joshi's house where Modi was greeted by the party's veteran leader with a bouquet. Joshi also hugged him and presented a stole to Modi. Modi touched Joshi's feet, who congratulated him by offering sweets. 

In another tweet, Modi said, "Dr Murli Manohar Joshi is a scholar and intellectual par excellence. His contribution towards improving Indian education is remarkable. He has always worked to strengthen the BJP and mentor several karyakartas, including me." 

Later talking to media, Joshi said both Modi and Shah have done a stupendous job and ensured a “magical victory” for the party.