The BJP parliamentary party will meet on May 20 to formally elect Narendra Modi as its leader, a formality before his anointment as Prime Minister.

This was decided at a meeting of the Parliamentary Board, the highest decision-making body of the party chaired by BJP chief Rajnath Singh and attended by Modi, L K Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Sushma Swaraj and other top leaders.

In a brief address to the media, Rajnath Singh said the NDA allies would also be invited for a meeting on the same day.

Dismissing media speculation, he said no date has been fixed for the swearing-in of Modi as the Prime Minister. It will be decided after the Parliamentary Party meeting.

Singh was addressing the media along with Modi, L K Advani and other top leaders after an over one-hour meeting of the Parliamentary Board, which adopted a resolution applauding the stewardship of its Prime Ministerial candidate for his “tireless efforts” and “inspirational” leadership.

The resolution said Modi “gave direction to the campaign with a vision” and also thanked BJP workers along with “social and cultural organisations”, an apparent reference to RSS and affiliate groups.

It underlined that India needs a Government which is “effectively governed and puts the country on a high growth track and sets the highest standards of probity.”

The BJP wants to build a country which is “strong, self-respecting and self-reliant”, the resolution said.

Commenting on the election results, the Board hailed the verdict given by the people. “People have spoken and spoken decisively. It is for the first time that a non-Congress Government has got a mandate to govern on its own.”

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