The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is considering taking oath on June 9 if it wins a third consecutive term in the ongoing general elections, two people aware of the matter said on Wednesday, adding that the tentative plans for the potential ceremony have been drawn up over the past month.
The results of the Lok Sabha polls will be announced on June 4.
In 2014, the NDA government took oath on May 26, a Monday. The results that year were announced on May 16.
In 2019, the NDA government took oath on May 30, a Thursday. The results that year were announced on May 23.
On both occasions, the ceremony was held in the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan.
According to the two people cited above, this time, the party is keen to find an outside venue that will seat a larger number of guests and one possible option is Kartavya Path, an iconic stretch that is the centrepiece of the government’s ambitious Central Vista project.
“The idea is to have a backdrop which will showcase the government’s achievements and vision for the future,’’ said one of the two people cited above, on the condition of anonymity. “A lot of the new structures of the Central Vista project are ready and so it provides an ideal location for the vision of a Viksit (developed) Bharat.”
To be sure, the details of the plan will only be firmed up after the results and will be contingent on the NDA getting a third term, said a second person cited above.
It is also likely that the weather will play its part. Delhi saw its hottest days in 80 years on Wednesday and June does not promise any let up in the heat.
Discussion around a possible third swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi was sparked on Monday when Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar told the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)’s executive meeting that the party may not be able to mark its foundation day on June 10, because they were likely to be busy with the swearing-in ceremony.
A meeting on the contours of the possible swearing-in ceremony was held at the information and broadcasting wing of the Union government on May 24 and attended by officials from public broadcasters All India Radio and Doordarshan, said a third person.
In that meeting, where there was no mention of the venue, officials were told to prepare for a larger audience than the 8,000 that came in 2019, said the third person.
One official expected that about 100 cameras will be used to broadcast the event live and said they were told to prepare for the ceremony to be held about 4-5 days after June 4.
“All preparations are in place as per standard protocol,’’ said Gauav Dwivedi, CEO of Prasar Bharti.
The Prime Minister’s Office didn’t respond to HT’s queries. Modi has already accepted an invitation to attend the G7 meeting in Italy on June 13 and 14.
Party leaders said a full cabinet might be sworn in later.
Six phases of the general elections are complete, and the seventh phase, comprising 57 seats, will take place on June 1. The party’s internal surveys have consistently indicated that the NDA was assured of a third term. Party strategists have told HT that while they expect their numbers to drop in Rajasthan, Haryana, Karnataka and Maharashtra by about 17 seats in total, they hope to make that up with gains in Telangana, Odisha, West Bengal and Assam.