New Delhi, February 13: BJP's feuding ally Shiv Sena on Wednesday voiced hope that the ruling NDA will retain power at the Centre, saying that it has done a lot of work in the country's interest. Treasury benches welcomed the words of Sena MP Anandrao Adsul, who was speaking during the last sitting of the 16th Lok Sabha, as the regional party has often been critical of the Modi government and the BJP, never losing an opportunity to fire barbs at its major partner.

"We expect that the NDA will come back to power with a majority," Adsul said.

The House also witnessed warm vibes between the Telangana Rashtra Samiti, which is in power in Telangana and is seen as a prospective ally by the BJP, and the saffron party. Jithender Reddy of the TRS said people from Telangana are "friends" but the government had little idea "who is its friend and who is enemy", an apparent reference to TDP, an ally-turned-rival of the BJP. Prashant Kishor Meets Uddhav Thackeray, Shiv Sena Calls It Courtesy Meeting.

K C Venugopal of the Congress said his party played the role of the opposition in conveying people's concerns to the government and also cooperated with it when needed. Union Minister and Lok Janshakti Party leader Ram Vilas Paswan said he is often called "weatherman", a reference to his being part of alliances which come to power, and added that he is sure that Modi will be prime minister again. Lok Sabha Elections 2019: Shiv Sena-BJP Alliance Intact, Will Contest In Maharashtra Together, Says BJP.

His government has taken several historic steps, Paswan said.

Union minister and Akali Dal leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal praised the government for its measures benefitting the Sikh community. Leaders cutting across party lines praised Speaker Sumitra Mahajan for the way she conducted the proceedings of the House, with BJD's B Mahtab describing her as "compassionate yet resolute"

TMC's Sudip Bandyopadhyay also praised Mahajan. Among those who spoke were Union Minister Anupriya Patel (Apna Dal), Kaushalendra Kumar (JDU), N K Premachandran (RSP) and Dushyant Chautala (INLD).