Video: JD(U) Chief Nitish Touches PM Modi's Feet In Symbolic Gesture As NDA Gears Up For BJP-Led Coalition

As leaders of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) arrived for a parliamentary party meeting on Friday, Janta Dal United (U) chief Nitish Kumar was spotted touching Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s feet, as a mark of respect.

Newly elected MPs of the BJP-led NDA met today to elect Modi as their leader, paving the way for him to take oath as prime minister for a third term. Despite being six months older than PM Modi, the Bihar Chief Minister was seen touching the Prime Minister’s feet, a gesture not observed toward older opposition leaders.

This comes ahead of Modi’s swearing-in scheduled to be held on Sunday. During the parliamentary party meeting today, senior members of the alliance like TDP’s N Chandrababu Naidu, JD(U)’s Nitish Kumar and Shiv Sena’s Eknath Shinde joined the PM for a meeting with President Droupadi Murmu to present her the list of parliamentarians supporting him.

As the NDA leaders gathered at Parliament to name Modi as the leader of the alliance, Nitish Kumar pledged his support, saying that he and his party would always be with the government. “It is a very good thing that all of us have come together and we will all work together with you (Modi). You will be taking oath as the Prime Minister on Sunday, but I wanted you to do it today itself. Whenever you take the oath, we will be with you,” he said.

The NDA has 293 MPs, comfortably above the majority mark of 272 in the 543-member Lok Sabha. Senior BJP leaders, including Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh and J P Nadda, have also been holding talks with allies to work out an amicable formula for their share of representation in the new government. As the oath-taking ceremony for Modi’s third term approaches, speculation is rising over which important Cabinet berths will be allocated to BJP allies.

As the possible formula for Cabinet allocation within the NDA is being discussed, it’s being said that the BJP will retain the key ministries on Raisina Hill, including Home, Finance, Foreign and Defence. This report comes as key BJP partners — Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Janata Dal (United) — are said to be eyeing at least three to four Cabinet positions in the Union Council of Ministers.