India’s BJP-led coalition government set to take oath

By Ahmad Adil

NEW DELHI (AA) - A coalition government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is set to take the oath of office Sunday in India after the conclusion of months-long elections that elected the 18th parliament in the world’s most populous nation.

Narendra Modi, 73, will lead the five-year term of the new government for a third time as the 15th prime minister with the support of allies under the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

The results of the elections, which began April 19 and concluded June 1, gave the BJP 240 seats in the 543-member parliament.

A party requires 272 seats to form a government on its own.

But with the support of partners, including the Telugu Desam Party and Janata Dal (United), the Modi-led NDA secured a third term with 293 seats.

It marks a return of coalition governments in India for the first time since 2014 when the BJP secured two terms on its own.

Modi’s main challenger, the INDIA alliance, won 232 seats, including 99 by the Indian National Congress, seen as a revival in the dominant BJP-era.

Modi rose to become the chief executive for the first time in 2014 and continued his second stint after winning elections in 2019.

He previously served as chief minister of western Gujarat state from 2001 to 2014, where his era was marked by consolidating the Hindu vote.

With the third term, Modi matched the electoral record of first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

Whether coalition compulsions limit Modi in carrying forward his party agenda remains to be seen.

- South Asian leaders to participate

President Droupadi Murmu will administer the oath of office and secrecy to Modi and his Cabinet at 7.15 p.m. local time at Rashtrapati Bhavan, the presidential house.

New Delhi invited several South Asian leaders to attend the inauguration.

The presidents of Sri Lanka, Maldives; vice president of Seychelles and prime ministers of Bangladesh, Mauritius, Nepal and Bhutan are among those attending.

There is no guest from Pakistan, with which India’s relations are at a low since 2019 when New Delhi removed special provisions granted to Jammu and Kashmir.

Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif attended Modi’s swearing-in in 2014.