Delhi On High Alert For PM Modi's Swearing-In Tomorrow: 10 Points

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will take oath, as too will members of his new cabinet, tomorrow evening at the Rashtrapati Bhawan in the national capital. He will be the first three-term Prime Minister since Congress stalwart Jawaharlal Nehru.

A three-layered security has been put in place at Rashtrapati Bhawan where he will be administered oath of office by President Droupadi Murmu. Officials said commandos from Delhi Police's SWAT and NSG will be deployed around the venue and other strategic locations as Delhi remains on high alert for the event. 

Police have declared the national capital a no-fly zone, banning the use of aerial platforms like drones, para gliders, remotely piloted aircraft and hot air balloons for the next couple of days.

The swearing-in ceremony is expected to witness the presence of leaders from neighbouring countries, including Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Nepal, Mauritius, and Seychelles, in addition to the Maldives, as part of India's 'Neighbourhood First' policy. The dignitaries will be given designated routes from their hotels to the venue and back.

Officials said several roads heading towards the central Delhi will be shut tomorrow or there may be traffic diversions. Checking of vehicles entering the national capital has already been increased.

PM Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party - which claimed 282 seats in 2014 and 303 in the 2019 election won 240 seats this time - 32 short of the 272-majority mark.

The support of incoming Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu's 16 TDP MPs and the 12 from the JDU of his Bihar counterpart, Nitish Kumar, are seen as critical to ensuring the BJP can form and run its government for the full five years.

The spotlight is now on negotiations between the BJP and its two key allies - TDP and JD(U) - each of which is batting for plum posts at the Centre. Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena faction and the LJP of Chirag Paswan are also seeking key portfolios in the new cabinet led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The INDIA bloc, meanwhile, defied exit pollsters to mount a real challenge to the BJP in a national election - a first since the 'Modi wave' swept it to power in 2014. The opposition alliance finished with 232 seats - 40 short of the 272-majority mark.

The Congress, which led the INDIA opposition bloc in this election, finished with 99 wins from the 328 seats it contested.