TN CM Stalin meets TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu at Delhi airport after alliance meetings

NEW DELHI: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president M K Stalin met Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president Chandrababu Naidu at the Delhi airport. They met as they were leaving for their home states after attending the meetings of their respective alliances held here on Wednesday evening.

After the meeting, in a post on social media platform X, Stalin said that he was confident that Naidu would play a crucial role in the Union government, advocating for the protection of the rights of the southern states.

“I conveyed my best wishes to him and expressed hope that we will collaborate to strengthen the ties between the brotherly states of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. I am confident that he will play a crucial role in the Union Government, advocating for the southern states and protecting our rights”, Stalin said in the post.

Both the INDIA bloc and the BJP-led NDA held meetings on Wednesday as they strategized their next move after the 2024 election results came out. Both Naidu and Janata Dal (U) chief Nitish Kumar will have a greater say in the NDA as the BJP falls 32 seats short of a full majority on its own, unlike in the last two NDA governments at the Centre.

Though the JD (U) and the TDP stated that they would stay in the NDA, the INDIA bloc did not stop wooing them. At the INDIA bloc meeting, the leaders said that doors should be kept open for the TDP and the JD (U). Both the JD (U) and TDP have had a history of joining and quitting the NDA.

Calling the June 4 results a mandate against the Narendra Modi government, the INDIA bloc said that it would take “appropriate steps” at the “appropriate time” to realise the people’s desire not to be ruled by the BJP government.

The parties of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) unanimously passed a resolution electing Prime Minister Narendra Modi as their leader at a meeting at the Prime Minister’s official residence on Wednesday

In all, 21 NDA leaders signed the resolution, which appreciated PM Modi’s efforts in nation-building, welfare of the poor, and development, adding that they were all partners in that effort. “After a very long gap, of almost six decades, the people of India have chosen a powerful leader with an absolute majority for the third consecutive time”, the resolution read. “We NDA leaders unanimously choose Narendra Modi as our leader”, it said.

The meeting was attended by BJP president JP Nadda, BJP leaders Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh, and the BJP’s allies, including Janata Dal (U) chief Nitish Kumar, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) supremo N. Chandrababu Naidu, Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde, Janata Dal (S) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy, Janasena Party chief Pawan Kalyan, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan, and Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar faction) leader Praful Patel. (ANI)