New Delhi: Narendra Modi was sworn in as the Prime Minister of India for a historic third consecutive term at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on Sunday, leading the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) coalition government. This achievement ties the record set by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first Prime Minister.
The lavish ceremony was attended by senior political figures, members of parliament, and heads of state from countries including Bangladesh, Maldives, Sri Lanka, and Bhutan. President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath of office to Modi.
Following Modi’s swearing-in, several key ministers also took the oath, including Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, JP Nadda, Nirmala Sitharaman, S Jaishankar, and Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
In a closely contested election that rejuvenated the Congress-led opposition bloc INDIA, the anti-Modi alliance limited the BJP to under 300 seats. Despite this, Modi returned for a rare third consecutive term in office with his allies. However, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) did not secure an absolute majority, achieving 240 seats out of the 272 required.
In the 543-member Parliament, the NDA, led by Modi’s BJP, secured 293 seats, while the opposition INDIA alliance garnered 234 seats.
Modi’s primary partners in the NDA coalition include the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in Andhra Pradesh, led by Chandrababu Naidu, and the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) in Bihar, led by Nitish Kumar.
President of Sri Lanka Ranil Wickremesinghe, President of Maldives Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, Vice-President of Seychelles Ahmed Afif, Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of Mauritius Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, Prime Minister of Nepal Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ and Prime Minister of Bhutan Tshering Tobgay besides renowned business figures on India such as Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani, as well as Bollywood and southern cinema icons like Shah Rukh Khan and Rajinikanth were present during the ceremony.
