Modi takes oath May 30

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be administered oath of office for his second term along with his new council of ministers on May 30, the President's Office said today.

President Ram Nath Kovind will administer the oath of office and secrecy to the Prime Minister and other members of the federal Council of Ministers at a ceremony in Rashtrapati Bhavan on Thursday at 7 pm Indian time, an official communique said.

Modi is the first BJP leader who has been elected for the second time after completion of his five-year tenure, a feat so far achieved only by two Congress leaders Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi. 

Atal Bihari Vajpayee of the BJP was also elected as Prime Minister for two consecutive terms but his first stint had lasted only for one year and seven months.

Names of the ministers who would join Modi in his second innings are yet to be officially disclosed, though there has been speculation that some new members expected to join the council, including from states like West Bengal that played a key role in the BJP's massive victory in the just-held Lok Sabha elections.

It was also not immediately clear whether the ceremony will be attended by some world leaders. Modi had stunned everyone during 2014 swearing-in when he invited SAARC leaders, including the then Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif.

Modi has been elected unanimously as leader of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance after which he called on President Kovind on Saturday in his capacity as leader of the BJP Parliamentary Party which has majority support in the Lok Sabha following the general election.

NDA has a strength of 353 MPs in the 543-member Lok Sabha, out of which BJP has a majority of 303 lawmakers on its own.