‘Get Speaker post, BJP forgets promises after forming govt’: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aditya Thackeray warns NDA allies

Hours after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders and alliance partners unanimously endorsed Narendra Modi as the leader of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) on Friday, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray suggested that the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Janata Dal United (JDU) should insist on securing the Lok Sabha Speaker’s position.

Taking a dig at the saffron party, Thackeray claimed that once the BJP forms a government, it tends to break its allies. “A humble suggestion to the possible allies of the BJP in the newly remembered NDA. Get the post of the Speaker,” he said in a post on X.

Thackeray also indirectly referred to the splits engineered in the Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

“Having experienced the tactics of the BJP, the minute they form government with you, they will break the promises and try to break your parties too. You all have experienced it earlier,” he said, tagging the accounts of the TDP and JDU on ‘X’.

Earlier in the day, the NDA, led by the BJP, held a meeting of its newly elected MPs at the Central Hall of Parliament to choose Narendra Modi as their leader ahead of the oath-taking ceremony on Sunday.

At the NDA Parliamentary Party meeting in Delhi, BJP allies including JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy, Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde, NCP chief Ajit Pawar and HAM(S) chief Jitan Ram Manjhi endorsed the proposal by BJP leader Rajnath Singh to elect Modi as the leader of the NDA bloc.

“Balancing regional aspirations and national interests must run parallelly while ensuring holistic development for all strata of society,” said TDP leader N Chandrababu Naidu.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar expressed confidence in Modi’s leadership, stating, “We are confident that Modi will develop India in a big way and we will wholeheartedly support him every passing day.”

With the BJP falling short of the majority needed to form a government, the support of the TDP and JD(U) has become crucial for Narendra Modi’s third term as Prime Minister. The NDA has 293 seats, with the BJP securing 240. The JD(U) has 12 MPs, making it the second-largest BJP ally after the TDP, which has 16 MPs.