New Delhi, May 30, 2019: Narendra Modi has been sworn in as the Prime Minister of India Thursday after a landslide victory in the 2019 Lok Sabha election.

With the cream-and-red sandstone dome of the Rashtrapati Bhavan in a backdrop, President Ram Nath Kovind administered the oath of office and secrecy to Narendra Modi and his council of ministers.

Surrounded by more than 5,000 guests and security staffers, Narendra Modi, 68, took the stage dressed in his trademark white kurta-pyjama and read the oath of office in Hindi.

After Modi, BJP president Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari and former foreign secretary S Jaishankar, a surprise pick, were administered the oath of office.

Apart from Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, other top leaders who were sworn-in as Union ministers included D V Sadananda Gowda, Nirmala Sitharaman and Ram Vilas Paswan.

Present at the glittering ceremony, held at the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the same venue as in 2014, were high-profile world and national leaders and personalities.

These included leaders from the BIMSTEC countries, opposition leaders Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, chief ministers, corporate honchos and film stars.

Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena and Bhutanese Prime Minister Lotay Tshering attended Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s swearing-in ceremony.

Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid was also in attendance as Narendra Modi and his council of ministers took oath. Others leaders included Special Envoy of Thailand, Minister Grisada Boonrach, Myanmar president U Win Myint.

Industralists Mukesh Ambani and Ratan Tata were also present for the oath-taking.

Multi-layered security arrangement was put in place in Delhi on Thursday with deployment of around 10,000 security personnel from the Delhi Police and paramilitary forces.

Quick Response Teams (QRTs) were also deployed at several crucial spots. Snipers were placed atop several important buildings as Modi visited Rajghat, Sadaiv Atal Samadhi and National War Memorial to pay homage, a senior police official said.

With a massive mandate in the Lok Sabha elections 2019, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won 353 of 543 seats in the lower house of Parliament with a 45 per cent vote share.

(INDIATODAY)