Narendra Modi takes oath as Prime Minister of India

Updated 3 hours ago

Narendra Modi was sworn in as Prime Minister of India for a third term in a grand ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi.

The BJP leader took the oath, saying he would “do right by all kinds of people without sentimentality or ill will.”

Modi’s National Democratic Alliance, led by the Bharatiya Janata Party, won the general election with 293 seats, a much smaller margin than exit polls had predicted.

Thousands of guests attended his inauguration ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi. They include the heads of state of neighboring Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and the Maldives, but not Pakistan or China.

Tight security measures were imposed in Delhi, which was declared a no-fly zone, with more than 2,500 police officers deployed around the place.

While taking the oath of office before President Draupadi Murmu, Modi said he would uphold the sovereignty and unity of India and rule with “true faith and loyalty to the Constitution.”

He said: “I will do what is right for all people according to the constitution and the law without fear or favour.”

The cabinet of the new Modi government was also sworn in during the ceremony.

Modi (73 years old) is the second Indian leader to win a third consecutive term after the country’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.

Opinion polls had predicted a clear victory for his Hindu nationalist party (Bharatiya Janata Party), which ruled India for ten years, but lost its parliamentary majority in the general elections.

The NDA bloc relied on two key allies, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the Janata Dal (United) JD(U), to cross the 272-seat mark needed to form the government.

On Friday, MPs-elect voted Mr Modi as leader of the Lok Sabha (the lower house of Parliament), parliamentary leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party, and leader of the NDA.

It is not clear what concessions his allies might have negotiated in exchange for their support. Indian media reported that many of them are seeking key ministerial positions.

The opposition India Alliance, led by the Congress Party, described the elections as a mandate against the Modi government.

But Modi hit back on Friday, saying: “The opposition tried to portray the 2024 Lok Sabha results as a loss for us. But we did not lose, we never lost, and we will never lose.”

Modi thanked voters for their mandate and said he would “do everything” to eradicate corruption and poverty.

“Empowering the poor and the middle class is our priority,” he said.

During his election campaign, critics accused Modi and his party of using hate speech, attacking the country’s Muslim minority, and imprisoning opposition figures.

The Prime Minister-elect on Friday said the NDA alliance was “committed to the principle of ‘sarva panth sambhava’ (religious equality).

The India Alliance said it would do its duty in Parliament by monitoring the government and protecting the Constitution.