PM Modi meets former President Ram Nath Kovind before staking claim to form government

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi met former President Ram Nath Kovind, in the national capital before staking claim to form the government at the Centre for a third consecutive term.

Earlier in the day, PM Modi met veteran BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani and senior party leader Murli Manohar Joshi at their respective residences.

In the meeting held at the Samvidhan Sadan of the Parliament building, the Prime Minister was welcomed with chants of 'Modi Modi'. As he arrived to join the meeting, the Prime Minister respectfully touched the Constitution of India with his forehead.

At the NDA Parliamentary Party meeting, Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar said now all the pending works in Bihar will be completed.

"It is a very good thing that all of us have come together and we will all work together with you (PM Modi). You will be swearing in as the Prime Minister on Sunday, but I wanted you to do it today itself. Whenever you take the oath, we will be with you. We will all work together under your leadership," he said.

BJP MP-elect Nitin Gadkari, JD(S) MP-elect HD Kumaraswamy, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) National President Chirag Paswan, Maharashtra Deputy CM and NCP chief Ajit Pawar, HAM(S) founder Jitan Ram Manjhi were among others who supported the proposal.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and LJP (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan also shared a candid moment at the NDA Parliamentary Party meeting.

After the NDA Parliamentary meeting, NDA leaders will go to Rashtrapati Bhavan and submit their letter of support to the President.

On Wednesday, leaders of parties in the NDA held a meeting and elected Prime Minister Narendra Modi as their leader. PM Modi later said that NDA will work towards building a developed India.

Meanwhile, Narendra Modi is likely to take oath as the Prime Minister for the third consecutive time on June 9, according to sources.

According to the results announced by the Election Commission of India on Tuesday, the BJP won 240 seats and along with its allies, it stands at 293 seats. Chandrababu Naidu's TDP and Nitish Kumar's JDU, having won 16 and 12 seats respectively in their respective states, have extended support to the NDA.

"You can ask any child whose government was in power before the Lok Sabha Elections? He will say NDA. Then ask him who formed the govt after 2024, and he will say NDA...Pehle bhi NDA thi, aaj bhi NDA hai, aur kal bhi NDA hai'...Even after 10 years, Congress could not touch the figure of 100 seats," the PM said in his address.

PM Modi said that in terms of numbers in the history of coalition, this is the strongest coalition government.

"For me, all the leaders of all the parties are equal in the Parliament. When we talk about Sabka Prayaas, for us everyone becomes equal whether they are from our party or not. This is the reason the NDA alliance has been strong and moved ahead in the last 30 years," he said.

"NDA is a group committed to the nation first. It must have been assembled in the beginning after a long period of 30 years. But today I can say that NDA is an organic alliance in the political system of India and great leaders like Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Parkash Singh Badal, Balasaheb

Thackeray...who sown the seed, today the people of India have watered the trust of NDA and turned that seed into a fruitful one. We all have the legacy of such great leaders and we are proud of it. In the past 10 years, we have tried to move forward with the same legacy, the same values of NDA and to take the country forward," he said.

PM Modi also vowed to continue his efforts towards consenus as he called the NDA the most successful alliance.

"I assure the people of the country that the majority they gave us to run the government, it will be our effort that we will strive towards consensus and leave no stone unturned towards taking the country forward...NDA has completed around 3 decades, it is no ordinary thing...I can say that this is the most successful alliance," he said.

The NDA won 293 seats with BJP winning 240 on its own in the Lok Sabha polls.