73-year-old Narendra Modi will be the second leader to achieve this feat after the first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Nehru had won the general elections of 1952, 1957 and 1962.
Narendra Modi will take oath as Prime Minister today i.e. on Sunday, June 9 for the third consecutive term as the head of the coalition government. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has not got an absolute majority on its own in the elections this time after two full terms of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government with an absolute majority. 73-year-old Narendra Modi will be the second leader to achieve this feat after the first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Nehru had won the general elections of 1952, 1957 and 1962.
Leaders of many countries will participate
Apart from leaders of India's neighboring countries and the Indian Ocean region, dignitaries and special invitees are also expected to attend the swearing-in ceremony of the Prime Minister and his Council of Ministers at Rashtrapati Bhavan at 7.15 pm. President of Sri Lanka Ranil Wickremesinghe President of Maldives Mohammed Muizzu Vice President of Seychelles Ahmed Afif Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina. Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, Nepal's Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda and Bhutan's Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay have accepted the invitation for the ceremony.
Foreign Ministry said. "The visit of the leaders to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Narendra Modi for the third consecutive term is in line with the highest priority given by India to its Neighbor First Policy and Ocean Approach. Leaders of the regional grouping SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) countries Attended Modi's first swearing-in ceremony when he took charge as Prime Minister after BJP's landslide election victory.
Surekha Yadav was also invited
When Modi became Prime Minister for the second consecutive time in 2019, his swearing-in ceremony was attended by leaders of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) countries. People from different areas have also been invited to this function. Surekha Yadav, pilot of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus-Solapur Vande Bharat train in Maharashtra, is among the 10 loco pilots of Indian Railways who have been invited.
Officials said on Saturday that necessary arrangements have been made for the guests, including the courtyard designated for the swearing-in of ministers and VVIPs. Rashtrapati Bhavan shared pictures of preparations for the grand ceremony where chairs, red carpets and other decorations have been set up for the ceremony.
Prohibitory order imposed in Delhi
Delhi Police has imposed prohibitory orders and increased security and declared the national capital a no-fly zone on June 9 and 10 for the celebrations. The Bharatiya Janata Party is trying to send a message of continuity and dispel any perception of political weakness after its surprisingly disappointing performance in the Lok Sabha elections. The party got 240 seats in these general elections, which is 32 less than the majority figure. The party had won 303 seats in the 2019 elections.
The main opposition Congress this evening said its leaders have not yet received invitations for the swearing-in ceremony while Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee announced that her party will not attend the ceremony. Banerjee said in Kolkata. “Neither have we received any invitation nor are we attending.”
Discussions going on regarding share in the Council of Ministers
Meanwhile, intensive discussions are going on between the BJP leadership and allies regarding the share in the Council of Ministers for various components of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the new government. Apart from Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh, party president J.P. Senior BJP leaders like Nadda are consulting allies including Telugu Desam Party's N Chandrababu Naidu, Janata Dal United (JDU)'s Nitish Kumar and Shiv Sena's Eknath Shinde over representation in the government.
It is believed that apart from important departments like Home Finance, Defense and Foreign Affairs, two ministries with strong ideological aspects like Education and Culture will remain with BJP. While his associates may get five to eight cabinet posts. Within the party, while leaders like Shah and Singh are considered certain to join the new cabinet, former Chief Ministers who won the Lok Sabha elections like Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Basavaraj Bommai, Manohar Lal Khattar and Sarbananda Sonowal are strong contenders to join the government.
These can be part of the new government
Sources said that Ram Mohan Naidu of Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Lalan Singh Sanjay Jha and Ram Nath Thakur of JD (U) and Chirag Paswan of Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) are among the allies who may be part of the new government. . Lalan Singh or Sanjay Jha will be inducted from JD(U) quota. Maharashtra, where the performance of the BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP alliance has been poor, and Bihar, where the opposition has shown signs of withdrawal, may remain at the center during the government formation exercise.
Nehru is the only Prime Minister who
Sources said that there is also a possibility of sending an experienced person to the party and giving Nadda a place in the government. The migration of a section of voters, especially the Scheduled Castes and other deprived sections of the society, away from the party could also be a decisive factor in government formation, although Modi had emphasized on increasing their relative representation during his tenure. Nehru is the only Prime Minister who remained in office after three consecutive elections after independence.
Congress, however, claimed that these results were a moral, political and personal defeat for Modi and questioned the comparison with Nehru. Party general secretary Jairam Ramesh said that the country's first Prime Minister had got two-thirds majority in all three terms. The BJP hit back, saying Nehru had "no challenger and was only losing to himself." BJP's IT department head Amit Malviya said on Twitter, reacting to Ramesh's post. "He was like that. Now sit down. The swearing in ceremony is tomorrow. You can either attend the ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan or watch it on TV. He said, "Meanwhile, console Rahul Gandhi. Tell him that 240 is bigger than 99."
