Narendra Modi sworn in for third consecutive term as India's Prime Minister

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the first Prime Minister since Jawaharlal Nehru to have a third term in the post

Vasudha Mukherjee, Business Standard, New Delhi,  Jun 09 2024 : Narendra Modi was sworn in as Prime Minister for a third term on Sunday evening, marking a historic moment in Indian politics. The swearing-in ceremony took place at the presidential palace in New Delhi at 7:15 PM, attended by over 9,000 guests, including heads of state from neighbouring countries and the Indian Ocean region.

At 73, Narendra Modi becomes the first Prime Minister since Jawaharlal Nehru to have a third term in the post. India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, won the post in 1952, 1957 and 1962 General Elections.

President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath of office in a grand ceremony in Rashtrapati Bhawan.

Who attended PM Modi's oath-taking ceremony?

Notable foreign leaders in attendance included Sri Lanka’s President Ranil Wickremesinghe, Maldives’ President Mohamed Muizzu, Seychelles’ Vice President Ahmed Afif, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, and Bhutan Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay.

Special invitees included workers who contributed to the construction of the New Parliament House and other key projects. Surekha Yadav, the first woman loco-pilot of the Vande Bharat Express, was among the 10 loco-pilots invited. Representatives of the transgender community and beneficiaries of various central government welfare schemes were also likely to attend.

Ahead of the ceremony, Modi visited Rajghat to pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi. At 73, Modi has equalled the record of India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, who won the 1952, 1957, and 1962 general elections.

BJP coalition government: Who will be on the Cabinet?  

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led by Modi, formed the government alongside its National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners after failing to secure a majority in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The BJP won 240 seats, falling 32 short of the required majority in the 543-member lower house of parliament, marking its weakest performance in a decade.

Alongside the Prime Minister, Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nirmala Sitharaman, BJP President J P Nadda, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Shivraj Chauhan also took their oaths as Union Cabinet Ministers.

Coalition members, especially larger parties, are expected to have demanded concessions from Modi, including ministerial posts in the cabinet. Leaders of the 15-member coalition, such as Andhra Pradesh chief minister-designate N Chandrababu Naidu and Bihar’s political leader Nitish Kumar, began negotiations in New Delhi earlier this week to provide the necessary numbers for Modi to govern for a third five-year term.

PTI, New Delhi, 09.06.24 : Banners of Prime Minister-Designate Narendra Modi are put up ahead of his swearing-in ceremony as PM for the third consecutive term, in New Delhi, Sunday, June 9, 2024.

Prior to the swearing-in ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held discussions with a group of NDA leaders, many of whom are likely to be appointed as ministers in the central government. During the meeting, prominent figures from the BJP and leaders of NDA coalition partners were seated in the front row as the Prime Minister addressed the gathering

Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi is set to take oath on Sunday for a third straight term, equalling the feat of first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, as the head of a coalition government after two full tenures in which the BJP enjoyed a majority on its own.

Hectic parleys involving BJP leadership and allies were on over the share of berths of different constituents of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the new government.

Senior BJP leaders such as Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh besides party president J P Nadda have been consulting the allies, including Telugu Desam Party's N Chandrababu Naidu, JD(U)'s Nitish Kumar and Shiv Sena's Eknath Shinde, to finalise their share of representation in the government.

There is a view that heavyweight portfolios like home, finance, defence and external affairs besides education and culture, two ministries with strong ideological hues, will be kept by the BJP, while its allies can get anywhere between five to eight cabinet berths.

While leaders like Shah and Singh are seen within the party as a certainty in the new Cabinet, former chief ministers who have won the Lok Sabha polls like Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Basavaraj Bommai, Manohar Lal Khattar and Sarbananda Sonowal are strong contenders for joining the government.

Ram Mohan Naidu of the TDP, Lalan Singh, Sanjay Jha and Ram Nath Thakur of the JD(U), and Chirag Paswan of the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) are among the allies who may be a part of the new government, sources said, adding that either Singh or Jha will be accommodated from the JD(U) quota.

Maharashtra, where the BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP alliance has fared poorly, and Bihar, where the opposition has shown signs of revival, may be in the focus during the government-formation exercise.

Assembly polls are due in the western state in October, while polls will be held in Bihar next year.

Impending changes within the BJP's organisation will also be on the mind of its brain trust in finalising the names of ministers from the party.

Nadda's term was extended due to the Lok Sabha polls, and organisational imperatives will be an important consideration for the party as the poll results have sent signals that all may not be well within its vast machinery.

This opens the possibility of some seasoned hand being sent to the party and Nadda being given a berth in the government, the sources said.

The desertion by a section of voters, especially from the Scheduled Castes and other deprived sections of society, may also be a guiding factor in government formation even though Modi had made a point to increase their relative representation in his outgoing term.

Nehru is the only prime minister who held the post after three consecutive elections after independence.

The BJP is keen to send out a message of continuity and ward off any impression of political vulnerability following its surprising below-par show in the Lok Sabha polls as its seat tally fell to 240 from 303, considerably short of the majority mark of 272.

The government has announced that leaders of several neighbouring countries, including from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives and Mauritius, will be attending the swearing-in ceremony slated to take place at 7:15 PM on Sunday at Rashtrapati Bhavan.