Shiv Sena happy, proud to extend support to BJP to form government at Centre: Shinde

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], June 5 (ANI): The Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena has extended its support to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to form the Government at the Centre after the results were declared for the Lok Sabha.
Congratulating PM Modi for his mandate, Shinde said in a letter to BJP president JP Nadda, "The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) under the able leadership of Hon. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modiji has received a historical mandate from the people of Bharat propelling them to win the Lok Sabha Elections for the third consecutive time. I wish to congratulate you on behalf of Shiv Sena Party for this victory."
"As one of the alliance partners of the National Democratic Alliance, we, Shiv Sena are happy and proud to announce an unequivocal support to the leadership of Hon Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modiji to form the Government," Shinde added.
The BJP has won 240 seats in the Lok Sabha elections, down from its earlier tally of 303 seats in the 2019 polls.
In Maharashtra, the overall performance of the BJP saw a giant dip from the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. The party gained nine seats against 23 in 2019.
The total tally of the Maha Vikas Aghadi stood at 17, with that of the Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) (Ajit Pawar) being seven and one respectively. The Congress, on the other hand, marginally improved its seat share by securing 13 seats in the state.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has secured a third term, along with the support of other parties in the coalition, primarily -- the Nitish Kumar-led JD(U) and the Chandrababu Naidu-led TDP.
The BJP fell 32 seats short of the 272 majority mark after votes polled in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections were counted. For the first time, since the Bharatiya Janata Party swept to power in 2014, it did not secure a majority on its own. (ANI)