Need to continue with Viksit Bharat agenda, Modi tells newly elected MPs ahead of swearing-in ceremony

Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Narendra Modi, who is set to take oath as the Prime Minister of India for a third term, asked the newly elected MPs and would-be council of ministers to prepare a plan of action for 100 days and act on it as soon as possible.

Modi, earlier in the day, organised a tea party for these leaders ahead of the swearing-in ceremony scheduled at 7:15 pm today.

According to a News18 report, Prime Minister-designate Modi congratulated all the MPs and advised them against getting influenced by others during work.

“We need to continue with the Viksit Bharat agenda. Development work will go on without any halt,” the report quoted him as saying.

Senior party leaders such as Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Piyush Goyal, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Nirmala Sitharaman and Mansukh Mandaviya are being seen as a certainty in the new government, PTI reported citing sources.

Shiv Sena's Prataprao Jadhav, BJP's C R Paatil, who is president of its Gujarat unit, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Rao Inderjit Singh, Nityanand Rai, Bhagirath Choudhary and Harsh Malhotra may also be inducted as ministers, as per the sources.

Most of the leaders mentioned met Modi over tea, a custom he has followed before the cabinet formation exercise since 2014.

“There is a ritual of Narendra Modi that he calls people to his residence for a tea meeting. He only calls them who he wants to induct in his cabinet. Some formalities were to be done, which I have completed. He has asked to me to stay in Delhi for the next 24 hours. Other than me, Rao Inderjit Singh and Krishan Pal Gurjar were also present in the meeting,” said BJP MP-elect Manohar Lal Khattar after the meeting.