Narendra Modi speaks during a public meeting in Ahmadabad, India, on May 26, 2019. Indian President Ram Nath Kovind on Saturday evening appointed Narendra Modi as the prime minister after receiving letters of support from the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA). (Xinhua/Stringer)
NEW DELHI, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met the country's President Ram Nath Kovind on Saturday evening and staked the claim to form his second consecutive union government.
The official Twitter account of the President of India said, "A letter stating that Narendra Modi had been elected leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) parliamentary party was handed over to the president. Letters of support from the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) constituent parties were also handed over to the president."
According to official sources at the "Rashtrapati Bhawan" (President House), the NDA partners submitted with the president a list of 353 newly-elected lawmakers belonging to the ruling alliance, in order to stake the claim to form Modi's next government for a five-year term.
In order to form a union government in India, a single political party, or an alliance of political parties, should have the support of at least 272 lawmakers, the half-way mark in the 545-member lower house "Lok Sabha."
Earlier in the day, the newly-elected lawmakers of the NDA elected Modi as their leader, thus paving the way for him to become the country's prime minister for a second consecutive term.
