Close X
Friday, November 29, 2024
ADVT 
India

Modi elected BJP parliamentary party leader

Darpan News Desk IANS, 20 May, 2014 11:45 AM
    Narendra Modi was Tuesday elected BJP parliamentary party leader, paving the way for the Gujarat chief minister to become India's prime minister.
     
    At a meeting held in parliament's central hall here, Modi's name was proposed by party patriarch L.K. Advani and seconded by other leaders including Murli Manohar Joshi, Venkaiah Naidu, Nitin Gadkari, Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley.
     
    The Modi-led BJP won a staggering 282 seats in the 545-member Lok Sabha, becoming the first non-Congress party since independence to get a majority on its own. The Congress fell to an embarrassing tally of 44 seats, its lowest ever.
     
    "Even though I have to propose the name of the leader, I am supposed to back the name which has been already decided by the party," Advani said.
     
    BJP president Rajnath Singh then formally declared Modi to be their leader.
     
    Singh described the moment as historic, and said this heralded an era in Indian politics that was dominated by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), with all other parties pushed to a distant second as "others".
     
    "This is an unprecedented, historic moment. Although Janata Party secured a majority in 1977 and ousted the Congress, it was a conglomeration of various parties. The BJP is the first party which has achieved this feat on its own," Singh said and added they have made inroads in states such as Kerala and West Bengal where it had been a non-entity in the past.
     
    Singh said he was "happy and thrilled", and described the day as the fruition of party ideologue Deendayal Upadhyaya's dream of a "strong, self-dependent, and free" India.

    MORE India ARTICLES

    Delhi Police launches Facebook page for NE people

    Delhi Police launches Facebook page for NE people
    People from the northeast residing in the national capital and even outside can now share their problems on Facebook with the Delhi Police Friday launching a page on the social networking site especially for them.

    Delhi Police launches Facebook page for NE people

    For J&K to prosper, article 370 must go: Nitin Gadkari

    For J&K to prosper, article 370 must go: Nitin Gadkari
    BJP leader Nitin Gadkari Friday said that for Jammu and Kashmir to prosper, article 370 of the constitution granting it special status must go.

    For J&K to prosper, article 370 must go: Nitin Gadkari

    Women's safety may play key role in Indian elections: Gallup poll

    Women's safety may play key role in Indian elections: Gallup poll
    Women in northern India feel less secure and have less faith in police, says a new poll and suggests these factors have the potential to play a significant role in the ongoing Indian parliamentary elections.

    Women's safety may play key role in Indian elections: Gallup poll

    India's trade deficit narrows to $10 billion in April

    India's trade deficit narrows to $10 billion in April
    India's trade deficit narrowed to $10.08 billion in April, sharply lower from $17.67 billion posted the corresponding month of last year, helped by lower imports and a modest increase in exports, government data showed Friday.

    India's trade deficit narrows to $10 billion in April

    Modi remains bookies' 'hot favourite' for PM

    Modi remains bookies' 'hot favourite' for PM
    BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi remained as the hot favourite for bookies and punters for becoming the next prime minister while Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi lagged a distant second, sources said here Friday.

    Modi remains bookies' 'hot favourite' for PM

    Kejriwal attacks Modi during Varanasi roadshow

    Kejriwal attacks Modi during Varanasi roadshow
    Surrounded by thousands of supporters, AAP candidate Arvind Kejriwal put up a show of strength here Friday, attacking his rival and BJP's prime ministerial aspirant Narendra Modi.

    Kejriwal attacks Modi during Varanasi roadshow