Modi unanimously elected as NDA leader; Naidu, Nitish back name

Senior BJP leader Rajnath Singh on Friday proposed Narendra Modi's name as the leader of the National Democratic Alliance Parliamentary Party and the proposal was seconded by his party colleagues Amit Shah and Nitin Gadkari as well as top NDA leaders.

At a meeting of the NDA parliamentary party in New Delhi at the central hall of old Parliament house, Singh also credited Modi for expanding the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance and said this grouping is not a compulsion but a commitment for the BJP.

After Shah, Gadkari also seconded the three proposals made by Singh to make Modi the leader of the BJP in Lok Sabha, of the NDA parliamentary party and the BJP parliamentary party.

Senior NDA leaders, including H D Kumaraswamy, Chandrababu Naidu and Nitish Kumar, also supported the resolutions, paving the way for Modi to become prime minister for the third time.