Prior to the swearing-in ceremony for Narendra Modi’s third consecutive term as Prime Minister, newly-elected members of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) are expected to convene on Friday.
As the swearing-in ceremony is anticipated to take place on June 9, with several global leaders specially invited for the event.
Following Modi’s election as the NDA leader, senior alliance members such as TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu and JD(U)’s Nitish Kumar will join the Prime Minister in a meeting with President Droupadi Murmu to present the list of supporting parliamentarians and stake a claim to form the government.
On Thursday, the Chief Election Commissioner and his team met with the President to submit the list of newly elected members.
Additionally, the JD(U) has requested a review of the Agniveer scheme, and the TDP is seeking three to four positions in the Modi 3.0 cabinet.
In the days following the Lok Sabha election results, newly elected MPs of the BJP-led NDA are set to meet in New Delhi on Friday, June 7, to elect Narendra Modi as their leader. Telugu Desam Party supremo N Chandrababu Naidu has directed all party MPs to attend the NDA’s meeting in New Delhi.
The TDP won 16 MP seats in Andhra Pradesh, while the NDA alliance of TDP, BJP, and Janasena collectively secured 21 out of 25 seats.
The TDP, which has emerged as a significant player in the NDA government formation with 16 MPs, is expected to join the Union cabinet, according to a party spokesperson.
The TDP will also seek special status for revenue-starved Andhra Pradesh, which lost Hyderabad to Telangana during the state’s bifurcation in 2014.
This is not the first time the TDP has been part of an NDA government at the center. Late TDP leader GMC Balayogi served as Speaker of the Lok Sabha when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was Prime Minister, although he died in a helicopter crash in Andhra Pradesh in 2002.
According to Shiv Sena sources, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde prefers that other senior MPs, rather than his son and three-term MP Shrikant Shinde, be considered for ministerial roles.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who will meet his party’s 12 parliamentarians in Delhi on Friday morning, is likely to demand four ministerial positions and special status for Bihar, where the NDA won 30 out of the 40 Lok Sabha seats available.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, senior JD(U) leader and Bihar minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary stated, “The JD(U) is part of the NDA and will remain with it. But there are certain demands related to the financial condition and economy of Bihar that must be fulfilled by the Centre. Our demand for special category status for Bihar is fully justified and needs to be fulfilled. We stick to our demand for SCS for Bihar.”
Preparing for his third consecutive term as head of a coalition government, Modi chaired a meeting on June 5 with members of the ruling alliance, who unanimously elected him as their leader.