The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners including Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N Chandrababu Naidu, Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal (United) supremo Nitish Kumar, Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde — on Friday endorsed BJP leader Narendra Modi as the leader of the NDA with a message to balance regional aspirations and national interests.
Speaking at the NDA Parliamentary Party meeting here, BJP allies JD(S) leader H D Kumarswamy, Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde, NCP chief Ajit Pawar, HAM(S) chief Jitan Ram Manjhi among others supported the proposal moved by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to elect Modi as the leader of the NDA.
Hailing and supporting Narendra Modi’s name as NDA leader, TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu said, “...Narendra Modi has a vision and a zeal, his execution is very perfect. He is executing all his policies with a true spirit...Today, India is having the right leader - that is Narendra Modi. This is a very good opportunity for India, if you miss now, we will miss forever...”
“Balancing regional aspirations and national interests must run parallelly while ensuring holistic development for all strata of society,” Naidu said. Naidu said Modi’s rallies in Andhra Pradesh helped the TDP win 16 seats in the Lok Sabha elections.
Kumar expressed confidence that Modi will develop India in a big way and also pay attention to Bihar. “We are confident that Modi will develop India and we will wholeheartedly support him every passing day,” Kumar said.
“All the pending works of Bihar will be done. It is a very good thing that all of us have come together and we will all work together with you. ... We will all work under your leadership,” he said.The Bihar chief minister slammed the opposition and expressed confidence that they will be defeated in the next Lok Sabha elections. “I have noticed that a few people have won (Lok Sabha elections) here and there by saying useless things. They haven’t done any work, never served the country. Next time when you win, they all will be defeated,” Kumar said.
During the occassion, in a humble gesture, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made way for Kumar to pass infront from him when he got up to express his support for Modi’s name as the leader of the alliance.
Reciprocating the gesture, Kumar after expressing his support to PM Modi’s name tried to touch his feet, however, the former resisted him and shook hands with the Bihar Chief Minister.
The Shiv Sena chief Shinde used a line from a popular advertisement and said, “Yeh Fevicol ka jod hai, tootega nahin (this is a Fevicol bond, it’s not going to break)”. Shinde said in Hindi, “Today is a historic and golden day. (Senior BJP leader) Rajnath Singh has proposed making Prime Minister Narendra Modi the head of the NDA parliamentary party and, as a party that follows (Shiv Sena founder) Bal Thackeray’s ideals, we support this fully.”
“In the past 10 years, PM Modi has contributed to the development of this country and ensured that India’s stature has risen globally. The economy has also been strengthened. No matter how many rumours or false narratives the opposition spreads, they have been rejected by the people and PM Modi has been accepted... What I will say about the Shiv Sena is that the party and the BJP share a common ideology and the alliance, which was formed by Bal Thackeray, is a Fevicol bond and will not break,” he added.
Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) [Ram Vilas] Chief Chirag Paswan and Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared a candid moment at the NDA parliamentary party meeting. After expressing his support for PM Modi, Paswan approached him, shook his hand, and hugged him, to which the Prime Minister responded with a pat on Paswan’s head.
