Newly elected lawmakers from India’s ruling alliance led by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party elected Narendra Modi as their leader on Saturday, paving…
Newly elected lawmakers from India’s ruling alliance led by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party elected Narendra Modi as their leader on Saturday, paving the way for his second five-year term as prime minister after a thunderous victory in national elections.
BJP president Amit Shah announced Modi’s name as the leader of the National Democratic Alliance in a meeting of the lawmakers in the Central Hall of Parliament in New Delhi.
The Election Commission announced that the BJP won 303 out of 542 seats in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of Parliament, after the official vote count from the six-week-long election was completed on Friday. That is well beyond the simple majority a party in India needs to form a government.
The BJP’s top rival, the Indian National Congress led by Rahul Gandhi, won 52 seats, and the All India Trinamool Congress led by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee won 22.
