Close X
Thursday, November 14, 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

    Modi keeps cards to himself, but names do the rounds

    Modi keeps cards to himself, but names do the rounds
    With the BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi keeping all cards close to his chest on ministry formation if the NDA comes to power, party leaders Thursday publicly said there was only media speculation on the issue. Yet names of possible cabinet ministers kept doing the rounds in the expectation of a Modi government by next week if the exit poll predictions get confirmed Friday.

    Modi keeps cards to himself, but names do the rounds

    India all set to count 550 million votes

    India all set to count 550 million votes
    The Election Commission is all set to count Friday some 550 million votes cast in the Lok Sabha polls that are widely expected to return the BJP to power, a top official said Thursday.

    India all set to count 550 million votes

    America on the horns of a Modi dilemma

    America on the horns of a Modi dilemma
    BJP leader Modi's likely elevation as the next Indian prime minister has put the US in a quandary - how to mend fences with a man it has shunned for years without losing face.

    America on the horns of a Modi dilemma

    Indian women largest online food shoppers: Survey

    Indian women largest online food shoppers: Survey
    Indian women have come a long way from being homemakers to being the largest consumers of online food. They are dynamically using the handiness of internet services for satiating the food choices of their families, a survey says.

    Indian women largest online food shoppers: Survey

    Don't write Congress off, it will bounce back: Digvijaya

    Don't write Congress off, it will bounce back: Digvijaya
    Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh Wednesday cautioned the media against writing off the party and asserted it would bounce back as in the past.

    Don't write Congress off, it will bounce back: Digvijaya

    BJP confident of Modi becoming PM, hold flurry of meetings

    BJP confident of Modi becoming PM, hold flurry of meetings
    "There will be a meeting of the party, all senior leaders will be there and a decision will be taken," the BJP president said.

    BJP confident of Modi becoming PM, hold flurry of meetings