NEW DELHI (TIP): The BJP will include all its pre-poll allies in the government though the party has numbers to form government on its own. Soon after it became clear that the BJP would cross the majority mark of 272 on its own, party chief Rajnath Singh said, “We thank our allies for their support. To run a government, you need a majority but to run a country, you need the support of everybody.

We will accept support of all those who want to help us in running the country. All NDA allies who have fought the elections with us will have due representation (uchit bhagidari) in the government. On the formation of cabinet, he said, “Cabinet formation is the prerogative of the Prime Minister and we will discuss all these issues after we sit together.” A visibly elated Rajnath Singh gave wholesome credit to Narendra Modi for the party’s spectacular electoral performance and said the role of seniors including L K Advani would be decided collectively and with consensus. “I am happy and satisfied.

It is people’s mandate for change and it is a mandate for Modi’s popularity… Time has come to re-write the Indian success story,” he said. “The role of senior leaders will be taken up after meeting of the central parliamentary board,” he said, answering a volley of questions on possible role for Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Sushma Swaraj in the new government. He went on to praise Advani, saying, “as far as Advaniji is concerned, he is not only our leader but we treat him as our guardian.

The party was taken to the heights that it has reached today because of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Advani.” In an attempt to do away with controversies at a time of party leaders were keen to enjoy the big victory, Singh said, “The reports about differences over leadership are baseless. We are united under Modi’s leadership and a very happy party today.” When asked if May 16 mandate reflects an end of dynastic politics, Singh said, the party won the election on its agenda of good governance and development even though many parties tried to divert the attention of the people.

“No one can win an election like this on negative issues and negative agenda. Our proven track record of good governance helped us get the mandate,” he said. “This is a mandate for change and it is a mandate for Modi. People from all segments have voted for BJP breaking barriers of caste, religion, creed and region. The BJP was considered an urban party but it has emerged as a party for people in slums, villages, poor and all sections of the society,” he said.