July 17, 2026

The Challenges Ahead For NDA 3.0 As Modi Takes Oath Today

By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2024-06-09 01:17:03

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Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator. Author of Cyber Scams in India, Digital Arrest, The Money Trap and The Human Hack

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Narendra Modi will take oath today as Prime Minister for the third time. Sources have reported that 30 ministers will also take oath today, with the TDP getting four berths and the JD(U) 2. For the first time in 10 years, Modi will be heading a NDA government in which the BJP does not have absolute majority in Parliament and is dependent on unreliable allies - mainly Chandrababu Naidu of the TDP and Nitish Kumar of the JD(U). Contrary to all expectations and expert views, the BJP performed badly in its strongholds and in direct fights with the Congress. It failed to secure a majority on its own. Instead of its professed aim of having a 'Congress-mukt Bharat', the party saw its foot print getting reduced in states like UP, Bihar, Haryana, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Bengal and the North-East. The gains in Odisha and other states were not enough to take the party beyond the majority mark of 272.

Although Modi has talked of a new spirit of competitive cooperative federalism and sarv dharm sambhav (like the sabka saath, sabka vikas slogan in 2014) and has also warned allies that he is not known to bow down to pressure, it is clear that his wings have been clipped and the dictatorial tendencies, which marked his first two terms, will be less visible now as the opposition is strong and his own government is shaky. The INDIA alliance has said that it will move at the right time (which means it will try to explore government formation with breakaway allies of the NDA) and Mamata Banerjee has warned that governments in the past have fallen in just one day.

Even without speculating on how stable the new government will be, it is clear that Modi will have to tread the path with caution. He will have to press the pause button on the controversial (like UCC) items on the BJP agenda and instead focus on development. He will also have to deal with increasing demands from Naidu and Nitish Kumar as both have hinted they will need special favours for their states Andhra Pradesh and Bihar, respectively. With inflation not going away and job creation not picking up, Modi has a tough task on hand. The bright spots are that the economy is performing well and the monsoon is likely to be normal. Still, it is evident that NDA 3.0 will not have a smooth ride.