In a majestic ceremony at the presidential palace in Delhi, Narendra Modi has taken the oath of office as India’s prime minister for an unprecedented third term.
The Bharatiya Janata Party leader pledged to serve all citizens impartially, without bias or malice.
The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, under Mr. Modi’s leadership, emerged victorious in the general election, securing 293 seats.
This was a narrower victory than anticipated by exit polls. The election also marked a revival of India’s opposition, which secured 234 seats.
The inauguration ceremony at Delhi’s presidential palace was attended by thousands of guests, including the leaders of neighboring Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives. Notably absent were representatives from Pakistan and China.
Delhi was under stringent security measures for the event, declared a no-fly zone, with over 2,500 police officers stationed around the venue.
Upon being sworn in by President Draupadi Murmu, Mr. Modi pledged to preserve India’s sovereignty and integrity and to govern with unwavering faithfulness to the constitution. He vowed to serve all citizens in accordance with the constitution and the law, without fear or favor.
The swearing-in ceremony also saw the induction of Mr. Modi’s new cabinet ministers.
At 73, Mr. Modi is only the second Indian leader after the country’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, to secure a third consecutive term.
Despite exit polls predicting a clear victory for his Hindu Nationalist BJP party, which had a decade-long rule in India, it lost its parliamentary majority in the general election.
To cross the 272-seat threshold required to form the government, Mr. Modi’s NDA coalition relied on two key allies, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the Janata Dal (United) JD(U).
On Friday, the elected MPs voted Mr. Modi as the leader of the Lok Sabha (the lower house of the parliament), leader of the BJP parliamentary party, and leader of the NDA.