Modi to form government after nailing down coalition

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be sworn in at the weekend after securing a third term in office following an unexpectedly close election that forced his party to rely on coalition partners to keep him in power.

Modi and his ministers will take the oath of office on Sunday evening, a statement from President Droupadi Murmu´s office said Friday.

Modi´s Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ruled outright for the past decade but failed to repeat its previous two landslide wins this time around, defying analyst expectations and exit polls.

He was instead forced into quick-fire talks with the 15-member National Democratic Alliance (NDA) coalition, which guaranteed him the parliamentary numbers to govern, although there are no indications yet of any concessions he may have had to offer in return. Modi presented signed letters of support showing his majority to President Murmu, who in turn invited him to form the next government.

“I thank the people that they gave the NDA government a third chance to serve them,” Modi said on Friday evening.

“This is the opportunity and will of the people and I thank them with my heart for this opportunity,” he said.

Modi earlier addressed a meeting inside India´s parliament of nearly 300 lawmakers forming his coalition and thanked them for unanimously supporting his leadership.

The meeting was a formality after the leaders of each party guaranteed their backing this week.

It was also an opportunity to demonstrate the concord between Modi and his new partners in government.