Modi moves quickly to secure coalition support

Talks on forming govt with key allies centre on allocating Cabinet roles

- Nirmala Ganapathy

India’s caretaker Prime Minister Narendra Modi has begun the process of forming a coalition government, launching swiftly into negotiations with key allies on June 5 after his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) failed to gain a majority on its own in the tightly contested general election.

A meeting between Mr Modi and alliance leaders was held at the prime minister’s residence, with talks centring on staking a claim to forming the next government.

Those in attendance included party leaders of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which won 292 seats in the 543-seat Lok Sabha or Lower House of Parliament after votes were tallied on June 4.

“We all unanimously choose respected NDA leader Narendra Modi as our leader,” a BJP-issued alliance statement said on June 5. It said the NDA government would “preserve India’s heritage” and work for the “all-round development of the country”.

The opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (India) bloc, of which the Congress Party is a member, also held a meeting, and has said it would continue its fight against Mr Modi.

Media reports said Mr Modi would be sworn in along with his Cabinet colleagues by President Droupadi Murmu on June 8 in a ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan, the official residence of the president. However, there was no official confirmation as yet.

Ahead of the meeting, Mr Modi – as part of the procedural formality for government formation – tendered his resignation, along with those of his Cabinet colleagues, to President Murmu, who asked him to carry on as caretaker in the interim, her office said on June 5.