Two key allies of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), Telugu Desam Party and Janata Dal (United) on Friday assured the coalition of their cooperation and strength, but with an underlying message -- there should be a balance between regional aspirations and national strength.

Endorsing Narendra Modi as the leader of the NDA, TDP leader Chandrababu Naidu said Modi’s rallies in Andhra Pradesh helped the TDP win 16 seats in the Lok Sabha elections. “Today, India has the right leader at the right time, that is Narendra Modi. This is a good opportunity for India. If you miss now, you will miss forever. That is why we have a wonderful opportunity today,” he said.

However, he also had a message to give. “Balancing regional aspirations and national interests must run parallelly while ensuring holistic development for all strata of society,” he said. TDP is the second largest party in the NDA with 16 MPs.  TDP has also won the State assembly poll and Naidu is slated to be sworn in as the Chief Minister.

JD(U) leader and Bihar Chief Minister, Nitish Kumar expressed confidence that Modi will develop India in a big way and also pay attention to Bihar. “We are confident that Modi will develop India and we will wholeheartedly support him,” Kumar said.

He also hoped that more positives will be done for the State. “All the pending works in Bihar will be done. It is a good thing that all of us have come together and we will all work together with you.. We will all work under your leadership,” he said.

The Bihar Chief Minister slammed the Opposition and expressed confidence that they will be defeated in the next Lok Sabha elections. “I have noticed that a few people have won (Lok Sabha elections) here and there by saying useless things. They haven’t done any work, never served the country. Next time when you win, they will all be defeated,” Kumar said.

Shiv Sena leader and Maharashtra Chief Minister, Eknath Shinde, expressed his willingness to work under Modi’s leadership and said the Shiv Sena and BJP share an unbreakable bond. “Fevicol ka jod,“ is what he said to describe the bond between both parties. He also said that both the parties share the same ideology, further strengthening their ties.

Apart from Naidu, Kumar and Shinde, LJP (Ram Vilas) leader Chirag Pawan,  JD(S) leader H. D. Kumarswamy, Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde, NCP chief Ajit Pawar, and HAM(S) chief Jitan Ram Manjhi, among others, supported Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s proposal to elect Modi as the leader of the NDA.

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