The National Democratic Alliance has unanimously named Narendra Modi as its leader, setting the stage for his third term as the Prime Minister of India. Messages of congratulations continue to come in, with President of the United States Joe Biden and Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong sending theirs.
India is likely to invite leaders of a number of its neighbouring countries, including Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, to the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the weekend, people familiar with the matter have said. Top leaders of Bhutan, Nepal, and Mauritius are also likely to be invited.
Congratulations to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the National Democratic Alliance on their victory, and the nearly 650 million voters in this historic election. The friendship between our nations is only growing as we unlock a shared future of unlimited potential.
President of the United States Joe Biden
The media division of Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s office said that Modi invited him to the swearing-in ceremony, and that Wickremesinghe accepted the invite.
Modi also had a phone conversation with Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and invited her to attend his swearing-in ceremony, which she accepted, diplomatic sources said.
Congratulations @narendramodi on the historic victory by the NDA for the third consecutive term. Look forward to working with you to deepen the Singapore-India partnership and to celebrate the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties next year.
Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong
Narendra Modi is likely to take oath on June 8
June 5 was a day of big meetings in Delhi, the capital of India, for both the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) fronted by the Bharatiya Janata Party and the opposition INDIA bloc fronted by the Indian National Congress.
The NDA unanimously named Modi as its leader, with Janata Dal (United) leader Nitish Kumar and Telugu Desam Party leader N Chandrababu Naidu being his key allies. Modi’s swearing-in is likely to be on June 8.
The NDA Members of Parliament will meet on June 7 to formally elect Modi as their leader. The alliance leaders would then go to President of India Droupadi Murmu to submit their letters of support, said HAM (Secular) leader and former Bihar chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi after yesterday’s meeting.
The new government was likely to be sworn in over the weekend, some sources said, adding that there was an intention to wrap up the formalities quickly, in order to not allow any mood of uncertainty to build up.
How soon the BJP and its allies reach an agreement on matters like ministry share and other terms of negotiations could also be a factor in deciding the timing of the swearing-in.
Besides N Chandrababu Naidu and Nitish Kumar, the NDA meeting was attended by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde; LJP(R) leader Chirag Paswan; JD(S) leader HD Kumarawamy; Jana Sena leader Pawan Kalyan; AGP leader Atul Bora; and NCP leader Praful Patel.
Top BJP leaders Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, and JP Nadda were present at the meeting table.
“Met our valued NDA partners. Ours is an alliance that will further national progress and fulfil regional aspirations. We will serve the 140 crore people of India and work towards building a Viksit Bharat,” wrote Modi on X after the meeting.
A resolution passed at the meeting said that the NDA government would continue working to lift people’s living standards for the country’s all-round development while conserving its heritage.
His allies lauded Modi for his clear vision for “Viksit Bharat” (meaning, developed India) and asserted that they were partners in this goal.
They also praised Modi for enhancing India’s pride in the world, besides his efforts towards poverty eradication and pledged to continue the good work, the sources said.