New Delhi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said his life is devoted to “Mother India” and the progress of its 1.4 million people. He ended his speech at the meeting of the newly elected Lok Sabha members of the NDA (National Democratic Alliance ) with a declaration that he has “one life; one mission”.

The newly elected Lok Sabha members of the NDA Parliamentary Group unanimously elected Modi as their leader thus enabling him to be the third-term Prime Minister of India.

He said the NDA is the strongest and longest-lasting political conglomeration of all time and it has existed for 30 years of the seven decades of Independent India.

He said NDA leaders were driven by national interests and the Alliance is not a grouping of power grabbers. "NDA is not a gathering of some parties to gain power or run the government. This is a group that is committed to nation first with the basic spirit of nation-first," he added.

Prime Minister praised Nitish Kumar and Chandra Babu Naidu, who have extended their unconditional support to Modi. He even hugged Chirag Paswan the young leader from Bihar whose Jan Shakti Party (Ramvilas) has five members in the Lok Sabha.

In his long speech, Modi said NDA is synonymous with good governance and all its leaders are progressive and have poor people of the country at the center of governance.

He said one of his targets in governance is to minimize the interference of the government in the life of the middle and upper middle class.

He said in his next term and the next decade he wants India’s growth story to move into top gear and the standard of life of the common Indian to improve drastically.

Speaking about the NDA, he said NDA constituents were connected through a bridge of trust and a common desire to see India grow.

He asked ‘independent and serious-minded’ analysts to ponder over the phenomenon of NDA being in power in 22 States. “NDA thus represents India’s diversity and democratic richness. “Our alliance reflects the soul of Bharat in every sense.”

He also vowed to continue his efforts toward consensus.

"I assure the people of the country that the majority they gave us to run the government, it will be our effort that we will strive towards consensus and leave no stone unturned towards taking the country forward...NDA has completed around three decades, it is no ordinary thing...I can say that this is the most successful alliance," the prime minister said.

Earlier this week, leaders of parties in the NDA, including JD(U), TDP, and Shiv Sena, held a meeting and passed a resolution to elect Prime Minister Narendra Modi as their leader.

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He also visited senior BJP leaders Lal Krishna Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi to seek their blessing for his third term as Prime Minister.