India’s Modi sworn in for a record-equalling third term as prime minister

NEW DELHI:

Narendra Modi was sworn in as India’s prime minister on Sunday for a record-equalling third term, but as head of an uneasy coalition after a shock setback that will test his ability to ensure policy certainty in the world’s most populous nation.

President Droupadi Murmu administered Modi’s oath at a grand ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan, the president’s palace in New Delhi, attended by thousands of dignitaries, including the leaders of seven regional countries, Bollywood stars and industrialists.

Modi, who started out as a journalist for the Hindu nationalist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideological parent of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), is only the second person after independence leader Jawaharlal Nehru to serve a third consecutive term as prime minister .

Modi, 73, secured a third term in elections that ended on June 1 with the support of 14 regional parties of the BJP’s National Democratic Alliance (NDA), unlike in the previous two terms when his party won an absolute majority.

The result is seen as a major setback for the popular leader as surveys and exit polls had predicted the BJP would secure even more seats than in 2019.

Modi has achieved global growth and raised India’s global standing, but appeared to have lost a step domestically as a lack of enough jobs, high prices, low incomes and religious wrongdoing pushed voters to rein him in.

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When Modi was the chief minister of the western state of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014, the BJP enjoyed strong majorities, allowing him to rule decisively.

Modi’s new term as prime minister is therefore likely to be fraught with challenges in building consensus on contentious political and policy issues in the face of regional parties’ diverging interests and a stronger opposition, analysts say.

Some analysts worry that the fiscal balance in the world’s fastest-growing economy could also come under pressure due to demands for higher development funds for states ruled by the NDA’s regional partners and a possible push by the BJP to spend more on welfare to support her lost in this year’s election.

Modi, whose election campaign was marked by religious rhetoric and opposition criticism that he allegedly favored India’s 200 million Muslim minority, adopted a more conciliatory tone after the shock result.

“We have won the majority… but to run the country unanimity is critical… we will fight for unanimity,” he said on Friday after the NDA officially named him the head of the coalition.