Weakened Modi Takes Oath

Narendra Modi was sworn in Sunday for a third term as India's prime minister, needing a coalition to rule this time after a strong showing by opposition parties in the general election. The ceremony at the presidential palace in New Delhi launches a new era for the country and for Modi, who has ruled as a strongman. He acknowledged the change in a speech Friday to coalition members. "To run the government, a majority is necessary," Modi said, the New York Times reports. "But to run the nation, a consensus is necessary. The people want us to deliver better than before."

It's Modi's first experience with coalition rule, after his nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party partnered with largely regional parties to form a majority in parliament, per the Guardian. Parties other than Modi's will control several cabinet and ministerial positions. After taking the oath Sunday, per the BBC, he told about 8,000 supporters and dignitaries, "I will do right to all manner of people in accordance with the constitution and the law without fear or favor." An analyst in New Delhi tempered expectations for a new approach by Modi after his election disappointment: "He is a pragmatic politician and, for his own survival and for the survival of his party, he will be a little mellowed. But to assume a qualitative change in his style of governance is expecting too much." (More India stories.)