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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was sworn in as prime minister for a third term on Sunday after a poor election result left him relying on coalition partners to govern the country.
Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has ruled the country for the past decade, failed to repeat its two previous landslide victories, defying analysts’ expectations and exit polls.
Instead, he was forced into quick negotiations with the 15-member coalition, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which guaranteed him the parliamentary seats he needed to govern.
Narendra Modi, accompanied by senior officials of the Bharatiya Janata Party and leaders of the ruling coalition parties, swore an oath of “true allegiance to the Constitution of India” at the official inauguration ceremony.
A guard of honour lined the steps of the presidential palace as thousands gathered to watch Modi, dressed in a white kurta and blue waistcoat, take the oath of office.
South Asian leaders from neighboring Bangladesh, the Maldives and Sri Lanka attended the ceremony, but neighboring rivals China and Pakistan did not send senior leaders.
Bollywood and business tycoons
The cheering crowd also included adoring BJP loyalists and celebrities such as Bollywood legend Shah Rukh Khan, billionaires Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani, who are key allies of Modi.
But with Narendra Modi yet to announce a new cabinet, the line-up of MPs being sworn in is also being closely watched as a harbinger of who will govern.
Modi is followed by senior BJP aides Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah and Nitin Gadkari, who served as defence minister, home minister and transport minister respectively in Modi’s previous government.
The tenth MP to take oath was HD Kumaraswamy from the BJP (Secular) and the first MP from the BJP alliance to take oath.
The larger coalition parties demanded major concessions in exchange for their support.
Other alliance leaders who took oath included Ram Mohan Naidu of the Telugu Dhashtrapati Bhavan (TDP), the BJP’s largest ally with 16 seats and which, according to Indian media reports, has been offered four Cabinet portfolios.
Also sworn in was Rajiv Ranjan Singh, from the BJP’s second-largest ally, the Janata Party (United), which holds 12 seats and reportedly holds two ministerial portfolios.
(AFP)
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