NEW DELHI: Indian lawmakers begin taking their oaths Monday as parliament opens after an election setback forced Prime Minister Narendra Modi into a coalition government for the first time in a decade.
Expected in the first session, which will run until July 3, is a preview of Modi’s plans for his third term and the likely formal appointment of Rahul Gandhi as leader of the opposition — a post vacant since 2014.
Modi’s first two terms in office followed landslide wins for his right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), allowing his government to drive laws through parliament with only cursory debate.
But now analysts expect the 73-year-old Modi to moderate his Hindu-nationalist agenda to assuage his coalition partners, focusing more on infrastructure, social welfare and economic reforms.
Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju on Monday called for a “peaceful and productive” session, but Indian media said they expected lively debate with a far stronger opposition.
“All set to spar,” one headline in the Hindustan Times read Monday.
“Resurgent opposition set to push government,” the Indian Express front page added.
Rahul Gandhi, 54, defied analyst expectations to help his Congress party nearly double its parliamentary numbers, its best result since Modi was swept to power a decade ago.
Gandhi is the scion of a dynasty that dominated Indian politics for decades and is the son, grandson and great-grandson of former prime ministers, beginning with independence leader Jawaharlal Nehru.
Parliamentary regulations require the opposition leader to come from a party that commands at least 10 percent of the lawmakers in the 543-seat lower house.
The post has been vacant for 10 years because two dismal election results for Congress — once India’s dominant party — left it short of that threshold.
The parliamentary session will start with newly elected lawmakers taking their oaths over the first two days.
Many will be watching if two lawmakers elected from behind bars, bitter opponents of Modi, will be allowed to join.
One is Sikh separatist Amritpal Singh, a firebrand preacher arrested last year after a month-long police manhunt in Punjab state.
The second is Sheikh Abdul Rashid, a former state legislator in Indian-administered Kashmir.
It is unclear if either will be granted bail to attend the ceremony in person.
Modi’s decade as premier has seen him cultivate an image as an aggressive champion of the country’s majority Hindu faith, worrying minorities including the country’s 200-million-plus Muslim community.
But his BJP won only 240 seats in this year’s poll, 32 short of a majority in the lower house — its worst showing in a decade.
It has left the BJP reliant on a motley assortment of minor parties to govern.
Modi has kept key posts unchanged in this government and the cabinet remains dominated by the BJP.
That includes BJP loyalists Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala Sitharaman and S. Jaishankar — the defense, interior, transport, finance and foreign ministers, respectively, staying on in their jobs.
But out of his 71-member government, 11 posts went to coalition allies who extracted them in exchange for their support — including five in the top 30 cabinet posts.
Many will also be eying the election of the speaker, a powerful post overseeing the running of the lower house, with lawmakers slated to vote on Wednesday.
Coalition allies covet the post, but others suggest Modi will put forward a candidate from his BJP.
![]()
India’s Modi to lay out third-term plans as parliament meets
Short Url
https://arab.news/mtdh4
India’s Modi to lay out third-term plans as parliament meets
- Narendra Modi’s first two terms in office followed landslide wins for his right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party
- Analysts expect the 73-year-old leader to moderate his Hindu-nationalist agenda to assuage his coalition partners
Voting passes peacefully in Nepal’s first election since September youth-led protests
KARMANDU: Voting was peaceful in Nepal’s first nationwide election Thursday since a violent, youth-led uprising forced the government from power in September.
Turnout was about 60 percent and only a few minor incidents were reported, according to Nepal’s acting Chief Election Commissioner Ram Prasad Bhandari.
Vote counting would begin immediately after the ballot boxes are collected and transported to counting centers across the Himalayan nation, which could be as early as Thursday night. Results were expected by the weekend. Helicopters will be used to ferry the boxes from polling stations in remote mountain villages in the northern region by Friday morning, Bhandari said.
The next administration is expected to inherit daunting challenges. It must deliver on changes demanded by last year’s protests, tackle entrenched corruption and carefully manage ties with its powerful neighbors, India and China.
“I came to vote mainly because of the protest and so many people gave their lives in the hope of a change, in hope of seeing better Nepal,” said Luniva, a first-time voter. “Hopefully, I want to see my country become better by all the sacrifices that have been made.”
Others shared similar hopes that the election could usher in positive change after months of political unrest.
Voters are directly electing 165 members to the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of Parliament. The remaining 110 seats in the 275-member body will be allocated through a proportional representation system, under which political parties nominate lawmakers based on their share of the vote.
The election is widely seen as a three-way contest, shaped by voter frustration over widespread corruption and demands for greater government accountability.
The National Independent Party, founded in 2022, is considered the front-runner, posing a strong challenge to two long-dominant parties: the Nepali Congress and the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist).
The new party’s prime ministerial candidate is rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah, who won the 2022 Katmandu mayoral race and emerged as a leading figure in the 2025 uprising that ousted former Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli.
Shah, 35, has rode a wave of public anger toward traditional political parties. He highlighted health and education for poor Nepalis as a key focus of his campaign.
The protests against corruption and poor governance were triggered by a social media ban before snowballing into a popular revolt against the government. Dozens were killed and hundreds injured when protesters attacked government buildings and police opened fire on them.
While the Congress and the Communists retain loyal voter bases, Shah’s party has drawn larger crowds on the campaign trail, highlighting its growing appeal among younger voters seeking an alternative.
There are about 19 million registered voters among the country’s nearly 30 million people, according to the Election Commission of Nepal.
Millions of Nepalis living overseas are unable to take part in the vote. An estimated 3 million citizens work abroad — largely in the Middle East, Southeast Asia and neighboring India — and cannot cast ballots because the country does not yet have a system allowing voting from abroad.
Turnout was about 60 percent and only a few minor incidents were reported, according to Nepal’s acting Chief Election Commissioner Ram Prasad Bhandari.
Vote counting would begin immediately after the ballot boxes are collected and transported to counting centers across the Himalayan nation, which could be as early as Thursday night. Results were expected by the weekend. Helicopters will be used to ferry the boxes from polling stations in remote mountain villages in the northern region by Friday morning, Bhandari said.
The next administration is expected to inherit daunting challenges. It must deliver on changes demanded by last year’s protests, tackle entrenched corruption and carefully manage ties with its powerful neighbors, India and China.
“I came to vote mainly because of the protest and so many people gave their lives in the hope of a change, in hope of seeing better Nepal,” said Luniva, a first-time voter. “Hopefully, I want to see my country become better by all the sacrifices that have been made.”
Others shared similar hopes that the election could usher in positive change after months of political unrest.
Voters are directly electing 165 members to the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of Parliament. The remaining 110 seats in the 275-member body will be allocated through a proportional representation system, under which political parties nominate lawmakers based on their share of the vote.
The election is widely seen as a three-way contest, shaped by voter frustration over widespread corruption and demands for greater government accountability.
The National Independent Party, founded in 2022, is considered the front-runner, posing a strong challenge to two long-dominant parties: the Nepali Congress and the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist).
The new party’s prime ministerial candidate is rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah, who won the 2022 Katmandu mayoral race and emerged as a leading figure in the 2025 uprising that ousted former Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli.
Shah, 35, has rode a wave of public anger toward traditional political parties. He highlighted health and education for poor Nepalis as a key focus of his campaign.
The protests against corruption and poor governance were triggered by a social media ban before snowballing into a popular revolt against the government. Dozens were killed and hundreds injured when protesters attacked government buildings and police opened fire on them.
While the Congress and the Communists retain loyal voter bases, Shah’s party has drawn larger crowds on the campaign trail, highlighting its growing appeal among younger voters seeking an alternative.
There are about 19 million registered voters among the country’s nearly 30 million people, according to the Election Commission of Nepal.
Millions of Nepalis living overseas are unable to take part in the vote. An estimated 3 million citizens work abroad — largely in the Middle East, Southeast Asia and neighboring India — and cannot cast ballots because the country does not yet have a system allowing voting from abroad.
Latest updates
© 2026 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.