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Preparations for government formation began on Wednesday. The ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) unanimously elected Narendra Modi as its leader. Meanwhile, the opposition INDIA bloc said it would take appropriate steps at the right time to "realise the people's desire not to be ruled by the BJP government."

 

A day after the election results gave the BJP-led NDA a clear majority, the ruling and opposition alliances held parallel evening meetings at the Prime Minister's residence and Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge's residence, respectively.

 

The BJP won 240 Lok Sabha seats, and the NDA bagged 293 seats, comfortably above the majority mark of 272 in the 543-member House. This paved the way for Modi to take the oath for a third consecutive term, a first for any ruling alliance since 1962.

 

The opposition INDIA bloc is also buoyed after making stunning gains this time by bagging 234 seats.

 

In setting the tone for his third straight term as the head of a coalition government, Prime Minister Modi chaired a meeting of the leaders of NDA parties, who unanimously elected him as its leader.

 

The leader of the HAM (Secular) party and former Bihar chief minister, Jitan Ram Manjhi, announced that the NDA MPs will gather on June 7 to officially elect Modi as their leader. Following this, the alliance leaders will meet with the President of India to present their letters of support.

 

Sources indicated that the new government may be sworn in over the weekend. They also mentioned that the necessary procedures are being expedited to avoid the development of any uncertainty, which the upbeat opposition might capitalise on.

 

"Met our valued NDA partners. Ours is an alliance that will further national progress and fulfil regional aspirations. We will serve the 140 crore people of India and work towards building a Viksit Bharat," Prime Minister Modi said on X after the meeting.

 

At the NDA meeting at the PM's residence, TDP leader N Chandrababu Naidu, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, LJP(R) leader Chirag Paswan, JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy, Jana Sena's Pawan Kalyan, AGP's Atul Bora, and NCP's Praful Patel were among the 21 leaders from 16 parties present. BJP's Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, and J P Nadda attended the meeting.

 

Asked by a reporter if he is in the NDA, Naidu said, "We contested the elections together. Why do you doubt." With the numbers stacked in favour of the ruling NDA, the INDIA bloc indicated a "wait and watch" approach after its old allies Nitish Kumar and N Chandrababu Naidu, who are now in the NDA, did not reciprocate to overtures and threw their weight behind Modi.

 

After almost two hours of deliberation with other parties in the INDIA bloc, Kharge stated that the opposition leaders have decided to persist in their fight against the "fascist rule of the BJP led by Modi." He also expressed gratitude to the people for their overwhelming support of the bloc.

 

"We will take appropriate steps at the appropriate time to realise people's desire not to be ruled by the BJP's government," Kharge said while reading out a statement adopted by all the alliance constituents after the deliberations at his residence.

 

He said all constituents of the INDIA bloc had decided in one voice.

 

The joint statement indicated that the alliance is keeping its options open but has chosen not to stake a claim in government formation.

 

The Congress president called the meeting to discuss the political situation and election results, explore the possibility of government formation, and decide whether to contact their former partners, Nitish Kumar and Chandrababu Naidu.

 

Kharge stated that the opposition will continue to work together, uphold the promises made to the people, and support them.

 

In his opening remarks, Kharge mentioned that the alliance welcomes all parties that share its fundamental commitment to the values outlined in the Preamble to the Constitution and to its various provisions for economic, social, and political justice.

 

Kharge, accompanied by former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, NCP (SCP) president Sharad Pawar, TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin, and other leaders including Sharad Pawar, Sitaram Yechury, Akhilesh Yadav, Tejashwi Yadav, Champai Soren, Raghav Chadha, Sanjay Singh, D Raja, and Sanjay Raut, stated that the coalition would continue to oppose the "fascist rule" of the BJP.

 

"The people's mandate has given a befitting reply to the BJP and their politics of hate, corruption and deprivation. This is a political and moral defeat of Prime Minister Narendra Modi," Kharge said.

 

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However, it will be a different scenario for Modi this time as the BJP has fallen well short of a majority and depends on allies for forming the government, after enjoying a comfortable majority in the previous two terms.

 

During the meeting, the BJP presented an image of a collective partnership with its allies. Naidu, Kumar, and Shinde were seated to Modi's left, while Nadda, Singh, and Shah flanked the prime minister on his right.

 

In terms of their parties' strength, Naidu, Kumar, and Shinde are the three biggest NDA constituents in that order after the BJP.

 

Naidu and Kumar's parties together command the support of 28 MPs and have denied speculation about their future moves.