With an agreement on a coalition in place, there is nothing standing in the way of a third term for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) party alliance unanimously elected the 73-year-old as its leader, ensuring him a majority in parliament. Modi gave a letter of support to President Droupadi Murmu, who then tasked him with forming a government.

According to senior party representatives, Modi will be sworn in on Sunday evening. Modi said his new government would focus on economic development and supporting the poor.

Modi earlier addressed nearly 300 members of his coalition in India's Parliament and thanked them for their support for his government. The meeting was seen as a formality and a demonstrative signal of unity. Leaders of the 15-party NDA alliance had pledged their support to Modi two days ago.

Modi's Hindu nationalist party, the BJP, lost its absolute majority in parliamentary elections for the first time in ten years. Although they remain the strongest force, they depend on coalition partners. He won 240 of the total 543 seats in parliament. With its coalition partners – smaller regional parties – they won more than the 272 seats needed to form a government.

Personality cult and Hindu nationalist agenda

During the election campaign, the BJP relied primarily on the cult of personality around Modi as a godlike leader. He propagated a Hindu nationalist agenda. After that it should be India became a state reserved only for the majority Hindus, who make up 80 percent of the population.

Experts believe that the main reason for the BJP's poor performance is the high unemployment rate in the country. Although India became the world's fifth-largest economy under Modi's government, only a small portion has benefited from the growth. Most people depend on social assistance.

India's six-week general election ended on Saturday. With more than 968 million eligible voters, it is the largest democratic election in the world.