Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday met President Ram Nath Kovind and staked claim to form the government. Prior to this, PM Modi was unanimously elected as the leader of BJP parliamentary party at the meeting of National Democratic Alliance.
At the Central Hall of Parliament, BJP president Amit Shah announced that Modi has been unanimously chosen as the leader of 353 NDA MPs. Following his announcement, a host of NDA leaders such as SAD’s Parkash Singh Badal, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray, LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan backed the proposal. Modi’s swearing-in ceremony could take place on May 30 at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. He won with a margin of 4.79 lakh votes.
Meanwhile, Congress President Rahul Gandhi’s offer to step down from his position has been rejected unanimously by the Congress Working Committee (CWC), said party spokesperson Randeep Surjewala. The party has requested Gandhi to carry out a complete overhaul and a detailed restructuring at every level of the party. A plan to this effect shall come into force at the earliest, he added. The CWC chaired by Rahul Gandhi held its first review meeting after its humiliating defeat in the Lok Sabha elections.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP Amit Shah arrive at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi on Thursday. (Express photo/Tashi Tobgyal)
As the NDA parliamentary committee today will hold a meeting to discuss the formation of government and swearing-in of the new cabinet, the future role of its president Amit Shah, who strategised and delivered a second wave in favour of Narendra Modi, has become the talking point in political circles. Speculation is rife that he will join the next Modi cabinet and could be the second in command.
Read | Talk in BJP: If Amit Shah joins government, who will head party?
However, Senior BJP leaders indicated that they have no clue about Shah’s future plans, that he and Modi have not dropped any hint.
The 17th Lok Sabha has to be constituted before June 3 and formation of the new House will be initiated once the Election Commissioners meet the President to hand over the list of newly-elected members.
Meanwhile, Modi’s education agenda for the first 100 days of his re-elected government includes the unveiling of a new national education policy, a special drive to fill five lakh vacant faculty positions in higher education, and addition of 10 Institutions of Eminence (IoE) to the existing sanctioned strength of 20.