Modi meets President, stakes claim to form govt

New Delhi: President Droupadi Murmu on Friday formally invited senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Narendra Modi to form the Union government for the third consecutive time.

This came hours after a BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) meet where leaders of the bloc proposed Modi’s name as the leader of its Parliamentary Party as well as Leader of the Lok Sabha, making him the PM-elect. Earlier in the day, he visited party stalwarts L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi at their respective residences.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday met President Droupadi Murmu at the Rashtrapati Bhavan ahead of government formation, officials said.

Details of the meeting between the two leaders were not immediately known.

Earlier in the day, Modi was chosen as the leader of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) parliamentary party, thus paving the way for him to become the prime minister for the third time.

The BJP-led NDA has got 293 seats and enjoys majority in the 543-member Lok Sabha.