Narendra Modi was sworn in as India’s prime minister on Sunday for a record third consecutive five-year term as head of a National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, after his Hindu nationalist Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) failed to secure a parliamentary majority in the recent general election.
Mr Modi was administered the oath of office by president Droupadi Murmu in the forecourt of the imposing red sandstone presidential palace in New Delhi, at a grand ceremony attended by more than 8,500 invited guests, including leaders from neighbouring countries Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Mauritius, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Seychelles.
Also braving the city’s searing temperatures for the ceremony were Bollywood stars, top business people, diplomats, hundreds of railway and sanitation workers, tribal women and the dozen “rat hole miners” who last year rescued construction workers trapped for 17 days after a tunnel collapse in north India.
The BJP won 240 seats in the election, 32 short of the 272 required to secure a parliamentary majority, despite near unanimous poll predictions of an outright victory.
The result left the BJP with no alternative but to resuscitate the NDA and form an alliance with about 10 of its member parties, giving it a majority of 293 MPs.
The largest of these allies included the Telugu Desam Party from Andhra Pradesh state in southern India and the Janata Dal/People’s Party (Secular) from eastern Bihar state, with 28 MPs between them.
Both parties had serious differences previously with Mr Modi and, according to BJP insiders, its leaders “negotiated hard” for several days to secure important posts in the new administration.
This is the first time that the BJP, which won outright parliamentary majorities in the 2014 and 2019 national elections, has needed the support of other parties to assume power.
Mr Modi has refused to acknwledge the BJP’s electoral setback, and instead hailed his becoming prime minister for the third time successive time a “historical feat”. This accomplishment equalled that of Jawaharlal Nehru, who was newly independent India’s prime minister for three straight tenures until1964.
Political commentator Siddarth Vardarajan said the elections were a “stunning’ personal setback” for Mr Mod.
After NDA MPs voted on Friday for Mr Modi to lead the federal coalition, the prime minister had uncharacteristically declared that “unanimity and co-operation” were critical to administrative success.
At an informal meeting of his prospective cabinet on Sunday, ahead of his swearing-in,Mr Modi urged the MPs to deliver on the government’s promises, and to complete projects under progress in the first 100 days of his administration.
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