NDA delegation meets President Kovind, stakes claim to form govt

An NDA delegation led by BJP president Amit Shah called on President Ram Nath Kovind on Saturday and staked claim to form the government.

The delegation comprised SAD chief Parkash Singh Badal, Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Sushma Swaraj, and Ram Vilas Paswan, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, AIADMK leader K. Palaniswami, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma and his Nagaland counterpart Neiphiu Rio.

Modi, who steered the NDA coalition to a massive victory in the Lok Sabha elections, was unanimously elected the leader of the BJP parliamentary party and the NDA parliamentary party to head the new government once again.

He was elected at a combined meeting of the newly elected MPs of BJP and the NDA coalition at the Central Hall of Parliament by 353 MPs by raising their hands amidst cheers of 'Modi, Modi, Modi' and applause.

The proposal to elect him as the leader of the BJP parliamentary party was formally proposed by Shah and later endorsed by Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari. This was seconded by Badal, Kumar, Thackeray, and Paswan, among others.

Narendra Modi-led NDA swept the elections and won 352 out of 542 seats in the 17th Lok Sabha elections. As per official numbers, the BJP secured 303 seats, 22 more than its 2014 figures. (ANI)

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