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Prime Minister Narendra Modi met senior BJP leader LK Advani today before he went to stake claim to form government for a third consecutive time. PM Modi also met BJP veteran Murli Manohar Joshi at his home, and took his blessings. Congress Fails to Hit 100 in 10 Years The BJP won 240 seats, despite its "400-paar" campaign, while the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won 293 seats and crossed the majority mark in the 543-member Lok Sabha. The NDA has chosen PM Modi as the leader of the alliance, which paved the way for his oath ceremony as Prime Minister for a third term. Mr Advani, who was conferred India's highest civilian award Bharat Ratna in February, had been a deputy prime minister. He also served as BJP chief for the longest time since the party was founded in 1980. Mr Advani is credited with crafting the BJP's rise through the 1990s when it came to power for the first time as the head of coalition governments under former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee....

 Nitish Kumar on Friday completed the formality of endorsing Narendra Modi for Prime Minister - for a third term - at a meeting of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance's newly-elected MPs. Nitish Kumar The Bihar Chief Minister - who underlined his 'paltu Kumar' sobriquet in January when he pivoted from the INDIA opposition bloc he helped create to the BJP's side - also took a jibe at his former allies, stating the group "has not done any work for the country". The JDU boss also declared "I will be with PM at all times" - a response to critics expecting a sixth political U-turn in a decade. Nitish Kumar's claim of support for Mr Modi was also an answer to speculation the INDIA bloc - which defied exit polls to slash the BJP's advantage and win 232 seats - had reached out to him. The JDU leader emerged as one of two kingmakers after the 2024 Lok Sabha election - 12 MPs from his JDU and the 16 from Chandrababu Naidu's TDP - will be essen...