Modi begins third term under pressure from his allies – Technologist

At sunset on Sunday, June 9, 73-year-old Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was sworn in for a third term in the presence of over 8,000 guests gathered in the still scorching heat outside the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the former palace of the Viceroy of India, now the presidential residence, on Raisina Hill in New Delhi. In doing so, he paid tribute to Jawaharlal Nehru, the independence hero and India’s first prime minister, who was until now the only leader to have been elected three times consecutively.

Also present were heads of government and heads of state from neighboring countries such as Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Pakistan and China, the two enemy neighbors, were the exception and were represented by minor figures.

In the front rows were ultra-religious Hindus dressed in saffron, billionaire Gautam Adani and his family, and a few Bollywood actors, including the most famous, Shah Rukh Khan, not particularly known for his closeness to power. The ceremony was not modest; it was extravagant and grand in terms of the number of guests, as Modi likes them to be, to make a show of force.

On Friday, June 7, President Droupadi Murmu asked him to form a government, his coalition having won the most seats in the parliamentary elections (293 against 233 for the opposition).

The prime minister took the oath of office in Hindi, pledging to protect the Indian Constitution. Then, the new ministers took their turn at the podium to take the oath, in what was a lengthy ceremony. The new government comprises 71 ministers and secretaries of state, whose portfolios are not yet known. These responsibilities are expected to be clarified at a later date.

List of demands

Modi begins a third consecutive term in office despite his party’s underperformance in the elections held on Tuesday, June 4. The Indian People’s Party (BJP, Bharatiya Janata Party) missed out on a majority of 32 seats for the first time since 2014.

To win the missing seats, the country’s strongman was forced to form an alliance with two veterans from Bihar (north-east) and Andhra Pradesh (south-east), Nitish Kumar and Chandrababu Naidu, respectively. They are both used to switching sides. The longevity of the government will depend on their loyalty.

The two allies chose not to join the government to retain their positions as heads of their states. However, they conditioned their support on a list of demands: ministerial posts for their party, special status for their territory and a review of the highly unpopular army recruitment reform – known as the “agnipath” – which has considerably reduced opportunities for young people to become soldiers, causing widespread frustration.

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