Top leaders of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will meet in New Delhi as the alliance marks 12 years in power at the Centre. The gathering also comes days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi became India’s longest-serving elected Prime Minister, adding to the significance of the meeting.
The meeting will be held at Bharat Mandapam and will be attended by Prime Minister Modi, senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, and representatives of NDA allies. Chief ministers and deputy chief ministers from all 22 NDA-ruled states and Union Territories are also expected to participate. According to media reports, NDA leaders are likely to honour Modi for his leadership and contribution to the alliance’s journey over the past 12 years.
PM Modi surpasses Jawaharlal Nehru’s record
The NDA is also expected to pass a resolution congratulating Modi for surpassing the record set by India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. On June 10, Modi crossed Nehru’s record of 4,399 days in office as an elected Prime Minister. Nehru’s tenure from 1952 onwards is considered for this comparison, as he led an interim government between 1947 and 1952 before India’s first general elections were held, IANS reported.
While former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi served for more than 14 years in office, her tenure was not continuous. As a result, Modi has become the longest continuously serving elected Prime Minister in India’s history, IANS reported.
The milestone comes at a time when the BJP is celebrating a series of political successes. Most notably, the party recently secured major electoral victories in West Bengal and Assam. In a historic breakthrough, the BJP formed a government in West Bengal for the first time since Independence, ending years of Trinamool Congress rule. The victory marked a major political shift in a state long dominated by the Left and the Congress.
The result also strengthened the BJP’s presence in the home state of Syama Prasad Mookerjee, founder of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the political predecessor of the BJP. For the party, the victory carries symbolic significance as it expands its footprint in a region closely linked to its ideological roots.
Top NDA and BJP leaders expected at Bharat Mandapam
Several senior Union ministers are expected to attend the NDA meeting, including Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, BJP president J.P. Nadda and Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Other senior leaders from alliance parties are also likely to be present.
Apart from celebrating the alliance’s 12 years in office, the meeting will review the NDA government’s work and discuss future priorities. Leaders are expected to deliberate on governance, development programmes and political strategy in the run-up to upcoming elections.
The gathering assumes added importance as it is the NDA’s first major meeting after the BJP’s recent electoral gains in West Bengal and Assam. It also comes ahead of Assembly elections in several states next year, making it an important platform for charting the alliance’s political roadmap.
The NDA meeting follows a recent gathering of the opposition INDIA bloc in New Delhi, where opposition leaders discussed a common strategy and deliberated on issues related to electoral reforms, education and the economy.
