Leaders of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) met at the residence of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President JP Nadda here on December 25 to mark the birth centenary of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Home Minister Amit Shah, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) President and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, Janata Dal-United leader and Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh, Apna Dal (S) President and Union Minister Union Anupriya Patel as well as Janata Dal (Secular) leader and Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy were present at the meeting, news agency PTI reported.
Bihar's Hindustani Awam Morcha (S) leader Jitan Ram Manjhi, also a minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government, Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) president Upendra Kushwaha, a Rajya Sabha MP, and Alsohar Vellappally, president of Bharat Dharma Jana Sena, were also present at the meeting.
While there was no official word on the agenda of the meeting, sources said good governance and political issues were discussed.
Good governance was a major theme of the Vajpayee government.
The alliance meeting was held on the birth anniversary of the BJP stalwart, who is credited with successfully leading the first coalition government for its entire term.
'India reaches unprecedented milestones'
“Attended the NDA leaders meeting in New Delhi today. Under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India is achieving unprecedented milestones and has positioned itself as a global superpower,” Nadda said in a post on X after the meeting.
“The NDA government remains steadfast in its commitment to the vision of 'Viksit Bharat@2047', ensuring a better and more prosperous future for all,” he added.
Uttar Pradesh's Nishad Party leader Sanjay Nishad said it was an “informal” meeting of NDA leaders on the occasion of Vajpayee's birth centenary. “Our future strategy is to move forward together. We must show unity in all upcoming elections. ..everyone congratulated (the BJP leaders) at the meeting for their victory in the Haryana and Maharashtra assembly elections,” he told reporters when asked about the meeting.
Asked whether Shah's comments on Ambedkar came up during the meeting, the Nishad Party chief said: “…We have come for the welfare of the people. How we can achieve success in that, energy has to be spent on.”
Under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India is achieving unprecedented milestones and has positioned itself as a global superpower.
“There is no need to respond to their narrative and negative thoughts,” he added in an apparent reference to Congress and other opposition parties moving against Shah over his comments.
The NDA meeting comes amid the alliance's focus on simultaneous elections, with all voters backing the proposal. A Joint Committee of Parliament, set up to examine two bills for simultaneous elections, is expected to meet on January 8.