Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday asserted that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) shines as an organic alliance in the political system of India adding that it is a group committed to ‘nation-first’.

Addressing an NDA Parliamentary Party meeting at the Central Hall of the old Parliament building here after all alliance partners unanimously passed a resolution endorsing Narendra Modi, the leader of the BJP-led NDA, the prime minister hit out at the Opposition INDIA bloc saying the “NDA is not a gathering of some parties came together merely to gain power. It is a group committed to Nation-First!”

JD(U) leader and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu, Janata Dal (Secular) leader HD Kumaraswamy, Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena (Shinde group) leader Eknath Shinde, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan, senior BJP leaders and other leaders of alliance parties were present in the meeting.

The newly-elected MPs of the BJP-led NDA elected Narendra Modi their leader, paving the way for his swearing-in as the prime minister for a record third term. Soon after being chosen as the leader of the Lok Sabha and the leader of the NDA Parliamentary Party, Modi was felicitated and garlanded by allies at the Central Hall of Parliament.

Modi walked inside the Central Hall amid cheers, clapping, and thumping of desks and went straight to a decorated corner near the podium to bow before the original copy of the Indian Constitution and lift it for a few moments before touching it to his forehead as a mark of respect for the statute book.

Addressing the NDA Parliamentary Party meeting, the prime minister said, “Today, the NDA shines as an organic alliance in the political system of Bharat.”

He said whenever given a chance to serve, each and every leader of the NDA has ensured good governance across India. The “NDA has become synonymous with Good Governance”, the prime minister said.

“Poor welfare and good governance have been paramount in the focus of all of us,” he said.

In the last 10 years, the alliance worked to make the country reach new heights of success. A common thing that exists amongst entire the leadership pillars of the NDA is good governance, he pointed out.

Stating that the NDA knows how to digest victory, Modi said, “If we look at it in terms of numbers in the history of coalition, this is the strongest coalition government.”

Taking a dig at the Opposition INDIA bloc, the prime minister said, “We were neither defeated nor have we been defeated! Our conduct following June 4 shows that we know how to digest victory!”

Empowering the poor and middle class has been “our priority”, he said, adding that today, the middle class has emerged as a driving force in India’s growth story. “We will continue to ensure the welfare of our people, and will continue to deliver ‘quality of life’ to all,” he asserted.

On the occasion, Modi gave a new slogan for the NDA ‘New India, Developed India and Aspirational India’ and said this is what NDA means to him.

Taking took potshots at the INDIA bloc over the latter’s cribbing on the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), he said the issue may have died down for now, but the Opposition would again turn it into a poll plank in the 2029 elections. “Is the EVM matter alive or dead?” he asked, poking fun at the Opposition.

Condemning the Opposition’s “medieval and regressive” approach, he said that they always tried to put stumbling blocks in the introduction of new technology. “From UPI to Aadhar, they found faults with everything new. This shows their medieval thought,” he said.

He also claimed that the INDIA bloc was bound for the worst downslide as the latter consistently failed to understand the country’s beliefs and value system.

Addressing the meeting of newly-elected MPs of the alliance, Modi targeted the grand old party, saying, “Even after 10 years, Congress could not touch the figure of 100 seats. If we combine the 2014, 2019, and 2024 elections, Congress did not even get as many seats as BJP got in this election. I can clearly see the people of the INDI alliance were sinking slowly earlier, now they are going to sink at a fast pace.”

PM Modi claimed that the country trusts only the NDA and added, “When there is such unwavering trust and confidence it is natural that the country’s expectations will also increase and I consider this good.”

“I had said earlier that the work of the last 10 years is just a trailer. And this is my commitment,” PM Modi said.

He committed to work with more speed, with more confidence, and in more detail without even a slight delay in fulfilling the aspirations of the country.

The prime minister said the NDA is a group committed to the nation first.

“It must have been assembled in the beginning after a long period of 30 years. But today, I can say that NDA is an organic alliance in the political system of India, and great leaders like Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Parkash Singh Badal, and Balasaheb Thackeray…who sown the seed, today the people of India have watered the trust of NDA and turned that seed into a fruitful one. We all have the legacy of such great leaders and we are proud of it. In the past 10 years, we have tried to move forward with the same legacy, the same values of NDA and to take the country forward,” he said.

PM Modi also vowed to continue his efforts towards consensus as he called the NDA the most successful alliance. “I assure the people of the country that the majority they gave us to run the government, it will be our effort that we will strive towards consensus and leave no stone unturned towards taking the country forward…NDA has completed around 3 decades, it is no ordinary thing…I can say that this is the most successful alliance,” he said.

He also thanked the leaders of the parties in the NDA for choosing him as the leader of the alliance.