What We Know So Far

New Delhi: Narendra Modi is set to take oath as the Prime Minister for the third consecutive time on Saturday after his allies chose him as their leader at a key meeting in Delhi yesterday, sources told NDTV.

It is learnt that the leaders of a number of neighbouring countries – including Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and Nepal – will attend Saturday’s oath ceremony.

The media division of Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s office said he has accepted the invitation to attend Saturday’s event and also congratulated PM Modi for his electoral victory.

PM Modi also telephoned Sheikh Hasina, the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, and she has accepted his invitation, news agency PTI reported citing diplomatic sources.

Formal invitations will be sent on Thursday to Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, his Bhutan counterpart Tshering Tobgay and Mauritius PM Pravind Jugnauth, the report said.

The BJP with 240 seats has fallen short of the halfway mark but the NDA has comfortably crossed the magic number, winning 293 out of 543 seats in the Lok Sabha.

The NDA partners, including Telugu Desam Party’s Chandrababu Naidu and Janata Dal United boss Nitish Kumar, met at the Prime Minister’s residence yesterday and unanimously chose PM Modi as the leader of the alliance.

In 2014, the leaders of the SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) countries attended PM Modi’s swearing-in ceremony and in 2019, the leaders of the BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) countries attended his oath ceremony.