BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) leader Narendra Modi will take the oath as prime minister of India today at 7:15 p.m. at Rashtrapati Bhawan, New Delhi. This makes Modi only the second person after former PM Jawaharlal Nehru to become prime minister for a third consecutive term.
In attendance at the ceremony will be many national and international dignitaries, including top leaders from Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives. To this end, security across the capital has been beefed up and Rashtrapati Bhawan will have three-tier security till June 11. Further, the Delhi-NCT area has been declared a no-fly zone to prohibit the use of drones and similar devices.
Besides Modi, however, all eyes are on which MP-elects from the NDA will make the final cut into his Cabinet and his council of ministers. These ministers are also scheduled to take their oath today.
Despite exit polls predicting a clean sweep for the incumbent BJP government and declaring 300-400 seats for the party, the BJP won 240 seats in the recently concluded 2024 Lok Sabha elections. As such, it is short 32 seats to reach the 272 majority mark and is now reliant on NDA partners to form the government for a third term.
Among the NDA, four allies in particular have emerged as "critical" for the BJP to form its government. These are the Telegu Desam Party (TDP) headed by Chandrababu Naidu; the Janata Dal (United) led by Nitish Kumar; Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde; and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) led by Chirag Paswan. These four allies have won 16, 12, 7 and 5 seats respectively, making Naidu and Kumar in particular "kingmakers".
With their influence on the future of the government set, allies are seeking lucrative ministerial posts marked by representation from their parties. Demands have reportedly been made, and today's ceremony will reveal who got what.
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