India’s Modi sworn in as PM for third term, faces coalition challenges

NEW DELHI - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was sworn in on June 9 for a third term after

worse-than-expected election results

left him reliant on coalition partners to govern.

Mr Modi, flanked by top officials from his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and party leaders of his coalition, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), vowed in a ceremony marking his formal assumption of power to “bear true allegiance to the Constitution of India”.

Honour guards lined the steps of the presidential palace where thousands gathered to watch Mr Modi, dressed in a white kurta and a blue waistcoat, take the oath.

President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath of office to Mr Modi at a ceremony at the 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.

“Honoured to serve Bharat,” Mr Modi posted on X, minutes before he was sworn in, referring to India’s name in Indian languages.

Supporters cheered, clapped and chanted “Modi, Modi” as the 73-year old leader was called to take his oath.

Midway through the inauguration, news came that at least nine people were killed and 33 injured when a bus carrying Hindu pilgrims plunged into a gorge after a suspected militant attack in the federal territory of Jammu and Kashmir, drawing criticism of the security situation from the opposition Congress party.

South Asian leaders from neighbouring Bangladesh, the Maldives and Sri Lanka attended the ceremony, but neighbouring rivals China and Pakistan had notably not sent top leaders.

Mr Modi’s Hindu-nationalist BJP ruled outright for the past decade but failed to repeat its previous two landslide wins this time around, defying analysts’ expectations and exit polls.

He was instead forced into quick-fire talks with the 15-member NDA coalition, which guaranteed him the parliamentary numbers to govern.

Bollywood and business tycoons

The cheering crowd at the ceremony on June 9 also included adoring BJP loyalists, as well as celebrities such as Bollywood legend Shah Rukh Khan, and billionaire tycoons Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani – key Modi allies.

But with Mr Modi yet to announce his new Cabinet, the line of lawmakers taking the oath of office was keenly watched as an indication of who would be in government.

Modi was followed by senior ministers in the previous government: Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala Sitharaman, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, and Piyush Goyal, among others. Their portfolios were expected to be announced after the swearing-in.

Tenth to take the oath, and first among the BJP’s coalition members, was Mr H.D. Kumaraswamy from the Janata Dal (Secular) party.

Larger coalition parties have demanded hefty concessions in exchange for their support.

Other coalition leaders to take the oath included Mr Ram Mohan Naidu of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), the largest BJP ally with 16 seats, and which India media reports has extracted four Cabinet positions.

Also taking the oath was Mr Rajiv Ranjan Singh from the BJP’s next biggest ally, the Janata Dal (United) with 12 seats, which has reportedly two minister posts.

Mr Modi described recent days as “very busy” in an article published on his website on June 9 ahead of the ceremony, saying he was in the “midst of preparations of government formation”.

Indian media reported widely that the top jobs, including the four most powerful posts of the interior, foreign, finance and defence, would remain in the BJP’s grip.

The Hindustan Times described days of “hectic talks”, while The Times of India said the BJP had sought to “pare down” its partners’ demands.

‘More consultation’

But analysts said the coalition will shift parliamentary politics and force Mr Modi’s once domineering BJP into a somewhat more conciliatory approach.

“In the past, the BJP has had confidence because of its sheer majority,” said Mr Sajjan Kumar, head of Delhi-based political research group Praccis.

“The coalition will now force the BJP to engage in more consultation.”

Political analyst Zoya Hasan of Jawaharlal Nehru University told AFP that Mr Modi faced potential challenges ahead – warning he may be “meeting his match” in “crafty politicians” such as the TDP’s Chandrababu Naidu and Janata Dal (United)’s Nitish Kumar.

Mr Modi’s chief rival Rahul Gandhi was nominated on June 8 to lead India’s opposition in Parliament, after he defied analysts’ forecasts to help the Congress party nearly double its parliamentary numbers.

It was Congress’ best result since Mr Modi was swept to power a decade ago, rescuing the party from the political wilderness.

Mr Gandhi is the scion of the dynasty that dominated Indian politics for decades, and is the son, grandson and great-grandson of former prime ministers, beginning with independence leader Jawaharlal Nehru.

If elected, as expected, he will be recognised as India’s official opposition leader when the new Parliament sits, which local media reports suggest will happen as early as next week.

Coalition challenges

Mr Modi delivered world beating growth and lifted India’s global standing, but appeared to have missed a step at home as a lack of enough jobs, high prices, low incomes and religious faultlines pushed voters to rein him in.

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

Mr Modi’s new term as prime minister, therefore, is likely to be fraught with challenges in building consensus on contentious political and policy issues in the face of different interests of regional parties 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 woo back lost voters.

While the broad focus on building infrastructure, manufacturing and technology could continue, “contentious reforms could be delayed”, said Samiran Chakraborty, Chief Economist, India, at Citi Research.

“The BJP’s major coalition partners are politically unpredictable, sometimes working with the BJP and sometimes working against them,” added Rick Rossow, the Chair in US-India Policy Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

“The larger parties that will be a part of his coalition are mostly agnostic on national-level issues and should not be applying a brake on economic reforms or security ties with the United States, Japan, and other key partners,” he said.

Mr Modi, whose election campaign was marked by religious rhetoric and criticism of the opposition for allegedly favouring India’s 200 million minority Muslims, has adopted a more conciliatory tone since the result.

“We have won the majority... but to run the country it is unanimity that is crucial... we will strive for unanimity,” he said on June 7 after the NDA formally named him coalition head. AFP, REUTERS