As the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) gather for a parliamentary party meeting on Friday, Nitish Kumar, the leader of the Janta Dal United (JDU), was seen showing deference to Prime Minister Narendra Modi by touching his feet.

Today, the newly elected MPs of the BJP-led NDA gathered to officially designate Narendra Modi as their leader, setting the stage for his third term as prime minister. Despite being older than Narendra Modi by six months, the Chief Minister of Bihar displayed this gesture, which wasn’t observed towards older opposition leaders.

This act paves the way for Modi’s upcoming swearing-in ceremony scheduled for Sunday, June 9. During today’s parliamentary party meeting, key members of the alliance, including N Chandrababu Naidu of TDP, Nitish Kumar of JD(U), and Eknath Shinde of Shiv Sena, along with Narendra Modi in meeting with President Droupadi Murmu to present the list of supporting parliamentarians.

#WATCH : CM Nitish Kumar touches PM Narendra Modi’s feet and seek blessings.#NitishKumar #NarendraModi #BJP #JDU #loksabaelctions2024 #loksabhelection pic.twitter.com/sZK0cCgwN1

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When NDA leaders convened at Parliament to endorse Narendra Modi as the leader of alliance, Nitish Kumar assured his backing, assuring that he and his party would consistently stand by the government. ‘It’s a positive development that we’ve all united, and we’ll collaborate with you (Narendra Modi),’ he stated. ‘Although you’ll be sworn in as Prime Minister on Sunday, I wished for it to happen today. Whenever you take the oath, we’ll support you,’ he added.

The NDA, with 293 MPs in the 543-member Lok Sabha, comfortably surpassing the majority mark of 272, has been engaged in discussions regarding the distribution of Cabinet positions for the new government.

Senior BJP figures like Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, and J P Nadda are in talks with coalition partners to concieve a fair allocation plan. With Narendra  Modi’s third term oath-taking ceremony drawing near, speculation is general regarding which significant Cabinet portfolios will be retained by BJP allies.

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Amid the ongoing discussions about the Cabinet allocation formula within the NDA, there is a speculation that the BJP will maintain control over crucial ministries like Home, Finance, Foreign, and Defence. This speculation arises as prominent BJP allies such as the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Janata Dal (United) reportedly seek to secure three to four Cabinet positions in the Union Council of Ministers.