New Delhi: The Congress on Wednesday said the Lok Sabha results are a “big mandate against” Prime Minister Narendra Modi and alleged that he is intent on “sabotaging” the people’s mandate.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the “caretaker Prime Minister is thumping his shrunken chest and boasting that not since 1962 has a government been re-elected thrice consecutively”.
“History that even the Master Distortian cannot rewrite is that Nehru was elected PM in 1952 with 364 seats, in 1957 with 371 seats and in 1962 with 361 seats. Mr. Narendra Modi has got 240 seats in 2024. It is a big mandate AGAINST him. But he is intent on sabotaging this mandate,” Ramesh said on X.
In his address at the BJP headquarters on Tuesday, Modi had said, “After 1962, for the first time a government has won the mandate for a third consecutive term.”
In another post on X, Ramesh also said, “In late November 1989, the Indian National Congress got 197 seats and was the single largest party. It could well have staked its claim to form the Government. But Mr. Rajiv Gandhi did what he believed to be the decent and morally right thing to do.”
“Who can say that the caretaker PM has even an iota of decency and morality in him, even as the people of India have rejected him resoundingly?” Ramesh said.
Modi on Wednesday tendered his resignation to President Droupadi Murmu, who accepted it and asked him to continue till the new government assumes office, a Rashtrapati Bhavan communique said.
Earlier in the day, the Union cabinet recommended the dissolution of the 17th Lok Sabha, to which the President obliged. The term of the current 17th Lok Sabha ends on June 16.
In another post on X, Ramesh said, “The outgoing PM has become a caretaker PM now. The mandate of the people against him is huge. But he remains busy subverting our democracy into a demo-kursi.”
Tagging a news report that claimed that the JD(U) has demanded a special package for Bihar and a nationwide caste census for continuing to support the NDA, Ramesh asked will Modi stand by his statement that the caste census is an attempt to divide the nation in the name of caste.
In another post in Hindi, the Congress leader said, “‘Ahankaracharya Narendra Modi and self-proclaimed Chanakya Amit Shah are experts in playing fixed matches. After the people’s mandate, the Modi-Shah partnership is finding itself in trouble for the first time. Till now, if one bowled a ball, the other would hit a six on it. But now the ball has been bowled by the public. Will the king of kings be able to play on the front foot? Will the outgoing Vishwaguru be able to face the full toss delivery of the public?”
NDA leaders meet
After the first meet of leaders of the NDA today, the group seeks to stake claim to form the government today. The leaders of all the NDA parties will reach Rashtrapati Bhavan at 7:45 pm.
The first NDA meeting lasted for an hour at the PM’s residence. Leaders from more than 10 parties attended the meeting, including JDU leader and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu, AJSU chief Sudesh, RLD’s Jayant Chaudhary, Jana Sena Party chief Pawan Kalyan, Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde, and LJP (Ram Vilas) leader Chirag Paswan, among others.
The meet cleared decks for the BJP-led NDA to form the government following a meeting of the alliance. All pre-poll allies participated in discussions to finalise the modalities for the NDA government’s formation for the third consecutive term.
BJP president J.P. Nadda, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and leaders of other parties of the NDA were also present at the meeting.
NDA adopts resolution, Modi to lead alliance
The NDA has unanimously adopted a resolution electing Narendra Modi as the alliance’s leader. The resolution highlights “the impactful development witnessed by 1.4 billion Indian citizens across the nation through the NDA government’s public welfare schemes under PM Modi’s leadership over the past decade”.
It acknowledges “the nation’s choice of robust leadership for the third consecutive term”. The resolution “proudly emphasises the unity showcased by the NDA during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections under PM Modi’s guidance, resulting in a victorious outcome”.
It declares “the unanimous election of Narendra Modi as the leader, affirming the commitment of the NDA government, under his leadership, to serve the underprivileged segments of society, including the poor, women, youth, farmers and marginalised communities”.
Furthermore, it pledges the NDA government’s dedication to fostering multifaceted development while safeguarding India’s rich heritage.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi presided over the meeting, held at his official residence on Lok Kalyan Marg. With the meeting concluding ‘smoothly’ and the decision reached that the NDA will take the initiative to form the government, Narendra Modi is poised to be sworn in as Prime Minister for a third consecutive term.
Letters of support for Modi
The NDA allies handed over their letters of support to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to begin the process of formation of a new government.
The letters of support, along with numbers of MPs of each supportive party, are meant to be submitted to the President Droupadi Murmu to formally stake claim to form the government. The NDA, BJP and its pre-poll allies have a clear majority.
The BJP parliamentary party is scheduled to meet on June 7 to elect PM Modi as its leader. Subsequently, on the same day, all NDA MPs will gather to elect Narendra Modi as the leader of the alliance in parliament.
Following these procedures, PM Modi is slated to take the oath of office as Prime Minister on June 8.
All participating leaders extended congratulations to PM Modi for his victory and have shown confidence in his leadership. The harmonious manner in which the meeting was held, and all allies promptly gave their letters of support to initiate formation of new government negated speculations that there could be any fissures in the NDA camp, leaving some space for maneuvering by the INDIA bloc.
Lok Sabha elections conclude
Following a lengthy six-week, seven-phase voting process, the results of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections were declared on Tuesday. The BJP-led NDA secured 293 seats, emerging victorious over the Opposition alliance – INDIA bloc, which garnered 232 seats.
TDP and JD-U are key constituents of the NDA with 16 and 12 Lok Sabha seats respectively. Shiv Sena is also an important partner with 7 seats. Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the election results as a “victory of the world’s largest democracy”.
(with inputs form PTI)
