New Delhi: Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi was sworn in as a member of the 18th Lok Sabha in New Delhi on Monday.
Having secured a third consecutive term earlier this month, Modi and his Council of Ministers took their oaths on June 9.
This marks Modi’s third term as a Lok Sabha member, having retained the Varanasi seat he has held since 2014. As Leader of the House, he was the first to take the oath.
Additionally, B Mahtab took the oath as a member of the new House and as the pro-tem speaker at Rashtrapati Bhavan earlier in the day.
On June 9, Narendra Modi was sworn in for a rare third consecutive term as India’s prime minister, relying on his coalition partners after his party failed to win a parliamentary majority in a surprise outcome.
Bharatiya Janata Party, which won by landslides in 2014 and 2019, failed to secure a majority to govern on its own in the latest national election. However, Modi’s National Democratic Alliance coalition won enough seats to form a government, with him at the helm.
Until now, Nehru was the only Indian Prime Minister to secure public confidence for three consecutive terms. Modi has now achieved this feat as well. However, there is a difference between their victories. While Nehru’s vote percentage declined over time, Modi’s has remained relatively steady.
Nehru won elections in 1952, 1957, and 1962. His vote percentage and seats increased from 1952 to 1957, with 45% of votes and 364 seats out of 489 in 1952, and 47.8% of votes and 371 seats out of 494 in 1957. However, in 1962, his vote percentage dropped to 44.7%, and he secured 361 out of 520 seats, a decrease in both votes and seats compared to previous elections.
In contrast, under Narendra Modi’s leadership, the BJP and NDA’s vote percentages have remained stable.
In 2014, the NDA received 38.5% and the BJP 31.3% of votes, which increased to 44.9% and 37.7% respectively in 2019. In the latest elections, the NDA got 43.82% and the BJP 36.6% of votes. The NDA won 336 seats and the BJP 282 out of 543 in 2014, which increased to 353 and 303 respectively in 2019. This year, the NDA secured 293 seats and the BJP 240.
