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New Delhi: Narendra Modi - to be sworn in Sunday as a three-term Prime Minister after Chandrababu Naidu's TDP and Nitish Kumar's JDU dragged his BJP past the 272-seat majority mark - mocked eternal rivals Congress for failing to win as many seats in this election. The Congress, he declared, had yet again failed to cross the 100-seat mark and won fewer seats in three elections than the BJP had in one.

Mr Modi - whose party finished with 240 seats, its lowest return in 15 years - also said "we were neither defeated nor are we defeated" and claimed, "Our values are such we do not develop frenzy during victory and do not mock the defeated. We do not have perversion of mocking the defeated."

Mr Modi then taunted his rivals over their poor electoral performance.

"Even after 10 years Congress could not touch the figure of 100 seats. If we combine the 2014, 2019, and 2024 elections... Congress did not even get as many seats as BJP got in this election. I can clearly see people of INDI Alliance (the BJP's jibe at the INDIA bloc) were sinking slowly earlier... now they are going to sink at a faster pace..." the Prime Minister-designate proclaimed.

The Congress, which led the INDIA opposition bloc in this election, finished with 99 wins from the 328 seats it contested. That was the party's best result in 15 years; it won 44 in 2014 and 52 in 2019.

The last time the party scored in the triple digits was in 2009 when it won 206 seats and propelled former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the United Progressive Alliance to a second term.

Mr Modi's jibe, though, may be premature, for the Congress could still hit the 100-mark if Vishal Patil, a party rebel who contested and won from Maharashtra's Sangli, re-joins the party.

In a post on X this morning, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge said, "Welcoming the support of elected MP from Sangli, Shri Vishal Patil to the Congress party".

In a lengthy speech that included multiple jabs and jibes at the Congress and the opposition, Mr Modi also made a pitch for governance by consensus and coalition politics. "Our alliance reflects the spirit of India and we are dedicated to upholding constitutional values. NDA is the most successful..."

"When I was speaking in this House in 2019 you chose me as the leader. Then I emphasised one thing... trust. Today, when you are giving me this role again, it means the bridge of trust between us is strong. This relationship is built on a strong foundation... and that is its biggest asset."

The remarks are seen as acknowledgement of his reliance on allies - new territory after enjoying brute majorities in 2014 and 2019. The BJP needs the support of Chandrababu Naidu and Nitish Kumar. Mr Naidu's TDP and the JDU of Nitish Kumar are seen as kingmakers after the TDP and JDU won 28 seats; take those away and the NDA does not have the numbers to form the government.

"The mandate of 2024 is strengthening one thing again and again - the country trusts only NDA. When there is such unbreakable trust, it is natural for expectations to increase. This is good...I said earlier past 10 years were a trailer. It was not an election statement, it was my commitment..."

"For me, all leaders of all parties are equal in Parliament. When we talk about 'sabka prayaas', for us, everyone is equal, whether from our party or not. This is why NDA is strong in past 30 years..."

President Droupadi Murmu on Friday invited Narendra Modi to form a government at the Centre after the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) elected him as the parliamentary party leader. PM Modi met the President at Rashtrapati Bhavan to stake claim to form the government.

Narendra Modi is expected to be sworn in as the Prime Minister for the third time at 6 pm on June 9 (Sunday).

Addressing the media after his meeting with the President, Narendra Modi said that President Murmu gave him the letter to designate him as the Prime Minister and sought details of a suitable time for the swearing-in ceremony. She also sought the list of ministers to take the oath with him, the PM-designate said.

"The NDA meeting was held earlier today, where friends from the alliance have chosen me for this responsibility. All the NDA allies informed the President about this, and the President called me and appointed me as PM-designate. She informed me about the swearing-in ceremony and list of Cabinet ministers. I have informed her that evening of June 9 will be suitable for us," Narendra Modi told reporters.

The NDA, consisting of the BJP, Chandrababu Naidu-led Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal United, and Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena among others, has 293 MPs, comfortably above the majority mark of 272 in the 543-member Lok Sabha. The alliance has submitted its list of MPs to the President today.

Earlier today, the NDA leaders assembled here at the Central Hall of the old Parliament Building. Besides NDA MPs, senior leaders of the alliance, including chief ministers, were present. Besides Chandrabadu Naidu, Nitish Kumar and Eknath Shinde, Chirag Paswan, Jitan Ram Manjhi, Anupriya Patel, Pawan Kalyan were among the NDA leaders present on the main dais, alongside senior BJP leaders.

Senior leader Rajnath Singh proposed a resolution in support of Modi's leadership and the NDA MPs endorsed it. Later, the list of parliamentarians supporting Narendra Modi was submitted to the president.

The Abu Dhabi branch of the Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi is set to start its first undergraduate courses in September — a milestone expected to kickstart the school’s further expansion in Gulf Cooperation Council countries.

The Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi is a public engineering institute in the Indian capital, one of 23 IITs operating across the country and offering undergraduate, postgraduate and doctorate-level programs.

Run by the Indian Ministry of Education, it is considered one of the best centers of excellence for training, research and science in India, and is globally ranked 45th in engineering and technology in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2024.

The institute’s UAE branch is funded by the Abu Dhabi Department of Education based on an agreement with the Indian government signed in July 2023.

Currently hosted by Zayed University, the IIT-Delhi Abu Dhabi started its teaching program in January with a master’s course in energy transition and sustainability, which paved the way for full-fledged operations to be launched in the academic year 2024-25.

“The undergraduate program is a flagship program of the IITs and hence its launch is significant,” Prof. Shantanu Roy, director of the IIT Delhi-Abu Dhabi, told Arab News this week.

“We would like to reach out to international students in the GCC countries. We will also be rolling out our research programs shortly and would like to engage with partners in Abu Dhabi, UAE and the region. IIT-Delhi Abu Dhabi will serve as a meeting point between IIT Delhi and its long 60-plus years legacy in teaching and research, and partners and collaborators in the UAE and neighboring countries.”

The two upcoming undergraduate programs will have a batch of 30 students each. Most of the students will enter based on the institute’s new examination, which the director said was customized for the UAE.

“A significant number of Emirati students have registered ... We see many students in our outreach programs,” Roy said.

“Eleven out of 18 students in our inaugural master’s program in energy transition and sustainability are UAE nationals. They are doing very well, and we are proud of them.”

The offshore campus is a part of the UAE-India comprehensive economic partnership agreement that came into force in May 2022.

The UAE branch is the IIT’s first campus set up abroad.

“The opening of the IIT campus in Abu Dhabi is indeed a significant milestone,” Sunjay Sudhir, Indian ambassador to the UAE told Arab News. “Now, in September, the first bachelor of technology courses in computer science and energy will commence.”

He said that IIT operations would not only strengthen the institute’s global brand, but also Abu Dhabi’s position as a hub for high-tech and innovation.

“The IIT-Delhi campus will be an important part of the innovation ecosystem of this country,” Sudhir said. “We expect a strong linkage between the IIT-Delhi campus and other research teaching establishments and also industries.”