Preparations are in full swing as President Droupadi Murmu will administer the oaths of office and secrecy to the Council of Ministers led by Prime Minister designate Narendra Modi at the courtyard of Rashtrapati Bhawan after 7 pm on June 9. This marks Modi’s third term as Prime Minister, but for the first time, he will rely on alliance members for a majority in the Lok Sabha. 

A party or coalition needs 272 seats to form the government. The BJP secured 240 seats in the Lok Sabha. Parties from the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by the BJP, have won 53 seats. Taken together, the NDA has a strength of 293 – 21 seats more than the 272-mark needed to form the government.

Article 75 (1A) of the Constitution says the total number of Ministers, including the Prime Minister, in the Council of Ministers shall not exceed fifteen per cent of the total number of members of the House of the People. The Lok Sabha has strength of 545, of which 2 are nominated by the President from the Anglo-Indian community while remaining 543 are elected by voters. Based on number of elected members, maximum number of Ministers in the Council could be 81 including the PM.

Composition of the Council

Cap on the strength could pose some challenge to the BJP as all alliance members are expected to press for more and more seats. Many speculations are on about composition of the Council. It is believed that key alliance members such as TDP and JD (U) will have a greater number of Ministers than other parties. It is also expected that top 5 Ministries (Home, Defence, Finance, External Affairs and Surface Transport) might not see any change, while Agriculture, Rural Development, Education, Petroleum & Natural Gas, Women & Child Development, besides some other Ministries may welcome new Ministers.

Global leaders

According to reports, around 9,000 guests from all walks of life are expected to witness the ceremony. Among the invitees, Padma awardees, rat miners, and sanitary workers will sit along with industrialists and people from various other fields.

An official statement from External Affairs Ministry said that Sri Lanka’s president Ranil Wickremesinghe, Maldives’ Mohamed Muizzu, Bangladesh’s prime minister Sheikh Hasina, Bhutan’s Tshering Tobgay, Nepal’s Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, and Mauritius’ Pravind Kumar Jugnauth have accepted the invitation to attend the event.

Seychelles’ Vice-President Ahmed Afif will also be attending the ceremony. “In addition to participating in the swearing-in ceremony, the leaders will attend a banquet hosted by President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan, the same evening,” the statement said. It added that the visit of the leaders to attend the swearing-in ceremony is in keeping with the highest priority accorded by India to its ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy and ‘SAGAR’ vision.

Meanwhile, a multi-layered security with five companies of paramilitary personnel, NSG commandoes, drones and snipers will blanket the Rashtrapati Bhawan swearing-in Delhi Police officials said. They also said that Rashtrapati Bhawan will have a three-layered security both inside and outside the premises. Delhi Police personnel will remain deployed at the outer ring followed by paramilitary personnel and internal security of the President’s house at the inner ring.

(With inputs from Amiti Sen)

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