Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday that President Droupadi Murmu had invited him to form a government, as he promised his new coalition of 15 parties would strive for unanimity and emerge successful.
Modi’s comments came after he met Murmu and accepted her invitation to head the National Democratic Alliance (NDA)coalition government and run the world’s most populous nation for the next five years.
He said the new government would be sworn in on Sunday evening, which would make him prime minister for a historic third consecutive term.
“I want to assure the people of the country that in the 18th Lok Sabha (lower house) also…we will work with the same pace, same commitment to fulfil aspirations of the people,” he told reporters outside the president’s palace.
It is the first time in a decade that his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) – which won majorities outright in 2014 and 2019 – has needed the support of regional parties to form the government, a shift that initially spooked markets and worries analysts about policy certainty and fiscal discipline.
“It is my good fortune that all of you from NDA have chosen me to lead,” Modi said earlier on Friday after NDA lawmakers voted for him to head their coalition.
“No alliance has ever been as successful as the NDA,” he said, after lawmakers and senior leaders thumped tables and applauded, with some standing and chanting “Modi, Modi!” in the central hall of the old parliament building.
“We have won the majority… but to run the country it is unanimity that is crucial…we will strive for unanimity,” he said, in a sign of the change in style coalition government may force on a leader used to ruling with a strong hand.
The new government would, among others, focus on raising savings of the middle class and improve the quality of their lives as the “middle class is the driving force of the country”, Modi added.
REUTERS
