NEW DELHI, June 10: Narendra Modi began his third term on Sunday as India’s prime minister after taking the oath of office to lead a government that includes a number of small regional parties along with his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath to Modi and his ministers at an elaborate ceremony held at the sprawling Rashtrapati Bhavan, the British-built presidential house in central Delhi.
Key ministers in Modi’s team are Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, Jagat Prakash Nadda, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Nirmala Sitharaman and Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.
The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) coalition has the combined strength of 293 seats in the 543-member lower house of parliament.
The BJP’s own tally is 240 seats, way short of the 272 majority mark.
Its two key allies – the Andhra Pradesh-based Telugu Desam Party (TDP) of political veteran Chandrababu Naidu and the Janata Dal-United of Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar – together have 28 members in the Lok Sabha.
The ceremony was attended by hundreds of invited guests.
Foreign leaders attending the event included Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu, Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe, 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. -TVS
