New Delhi| WTNS | June 11:Narendra Modi was sworn in as prime minister on Sunday for a rare third term after nearly two months of voting in the world’s largest democracy. But for the first time, Modi will lead a coalition Government.
Modi, 73, made history by being elected three consecutive times. The last person to do that was Jawaharlal Nehru, one of the founding fathers of modern India and its first prime minister.
But Modi’s vow that he’d win a supermajority, which would have allowed him to reshape the Indian state that Nehru created, was dashed.
The prime minister will lead a coalition government after voters defied the predictions of exit polls, India’s mainstream media, and the markets that Modi’s BJP party would win a supermajority of two-thirds of all parliamentary seats.
As tallying began on June 4, it quickly became clear that the BJP would not clear a simple majority of 272, although it won the largest number of seats. It won 240 seats, and with its allies, secured 293.
Modi’s coalition now relies on allies, including two kingmakers, to retain power: N. Chandrababu Naidu of the Telugu Desam Party in southern Andhra Pradesh state, and Nitish Kumar of the Janata Dal (United) in eastern Bihar state.
President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath at India’s presidential palace, the Rashtrapati Bhavan, in the capital New Delhi at twilight after a sweltering summer day. The audience included some of India’s biggest movie stars and its wealthiest businessmen, including India’s richest person, Mukesh Ambani.
The close mingling of business and power appeared to be one of the key reasons why fewer Indians cast their vote for Modi than in the past.
There was a widespread perception among voters that the prime minister had swelled the coffers of big business while ordinary Indians struggled with low wages, high unemployment and rising prices.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was sworn in as prime minister for the third consecutive term along with his 71 ministers on Sunday, allocated portfolios to the newly elected ministers in his cabinet on June 10. The first cabinet meeting took place in the national capital, Delhi, on Monday.
Council of Ministers: Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, JP Nadda, Shivraj Singh Chauhan, Nirmala Sitharaman, S Jaishankar; ML Khattar, HD Kumaraswamy, Piyush Goyal, Dharmendra Pradhan, Jitan Ram Manjhi, Rajeev Ranjan Singh, Sarbananda Sonowal and Dr Virendra Kumar among others took oath.
Members from allies sworn-in :JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy, HAM (Secular) chief Jitan Ram Manjhi, JD(U) leader Rajiv Ranjan Singh ‘Lalan’, TDP’s K Ram Mohan Naidu and LJP-RV leader Chirag Paswan took oath as Cabinet ministers. Each of these five allies got one cabinet berth each.
