New Delhi, May 26 (UNI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who won a second straight term in office following a stunning victory in the Lok Sabha election, and his Council of Ministers will take oath on Thursday at 1900 hrs.
President Ram Nath Kovind would administer the oath of office and secrecy to the prime minister and his cabinet colleagues, the Rashtrapati Bhavan said in a statement on Sunday. The ceremony will take place at 7 pm.
Modi had met President Kovind and staked a claim to form a government last evening.
The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance had won a resounding majority in the Lok Sabha elections on Thursday, securing 352 seats in the 545-member lower house of parliament.
President Kovind on Saturday had dissolved the 16th Lok Sabha with immediate effect as Modi was unanimously elected as the Leader of the BJP parliamentary party and the National Democratic Alliance.
In his acceptance speech, Modi said his new goverment would be more inclusive and work to win the trust of even those who didn't vote for him and his party.
It is not known what shape and size of his new government would be, and who all would be included in the council of ministers.
There are speculations in the media that Modi and his close confidant, BJP President Amit Shah are likely to include newer faces from the East, especially from West Bengal, where the party made big gains winning 18 seats, and Odisha where it raised its tally from one to eight.
The guest list for the swearing-in ceremony is also not made public. In 2014, leaders of the SAARC countries had attended the ceremony.
The government on Sunday also junked reports on the deteriorating health of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley as false and baseless, and said media should stay clear of rumour mongering.
"Reports in a section of media regarding Union Minister Shri Arun Jaitley's health condition are false and baseless. Media is advised to stay clear of rumour mongering," government spokesperson Sitanshu Kar said on mico-blogging site Twitter.
UNI SRJ