From the massive Guest list to the delectable fare from the Rashtrapati Bhawan's kitchens, here's all you need to know ahead of PM Modi's oath-taking ceremony

Post the thumping victory of the BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, PM Narendra Modi along with his council of ministers will take his oath-of-office in a grand swearing-in ceremony on Thursday, May 30, 2019. Here is everything you need to know about the glittering ceremony: 

Venue:

The event will take place at the Rashtrapati Bhavan at 7 pm. The oath-taking ceremony will be administered by President Ram Nath Kovind.  The ceremony will be hosted in the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan. The Durbar Hall at the Rashtrapati Bhavan is usually the swearing-in venue. Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Chandrashekhar are the only Prime Ministers, apart from Narendra Modi, who were sworn-in at the forecourt.

(Photo: rashtrapatisachivalaya.gov.in)

International Guest List:

From political leaders to sportspersons and film stars, a record 8,000+ guests are likely to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Narendra Modi. Leaders of BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) comprises Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Nepal and Bhutan, have been invited for the swearing-in ceremony. 

Following overseas leader have confirmed their participation at the swearing-in ceremony of the Prime Minister: 

• Md Abdul Hamid, President of Bangladesh
• Maithripala Sirisena, President of Sri Lanka
• U Win Myint, President of Myanmar
• The Honourable Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, Prime Minister of Mauritius
• Rt Hon K P Sharma Oli, Prime Minister of Nepal
• Dr Lotay Tshering, Prime Minister of Bhutan
• Grisada Boonrach, Special Envoy of Thailand
• Sooronbay Jeenbekov, President of  Kyrgyz

Indian Political Leaders: 

All prominent opposition leaders, chief ministers, and governors are invited for the swearing-in ceremony. Invitations to all major regional and national political parties of the country have been sent. The list includes: 

• Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal
• Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao
• Andhra Pradesh CM-designate YS Jagan Mohan Reddy
• Congress President Rahul Gandhi
• JD(S) leader and Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy
• SAD leader Prakash Singh Badal
• JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar
• LJP leader Ram Vilas Paswan
• Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray
• AIADMK’s K Palaniswami
• NPP’s Conrad Sangma
• MNM chief Kamal Haasan
• Rajnikanth

Special Guests: 

Besides politicians and celebrities, the event will be attended by 70 special guests. These guests are the family members of BJP workers who lost their lives in incidents of political violence in West Bengal over the past few years, a senior BJP leader informed.

Likely to skip

Trinamool Congress Chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is likely to skip the ceremony because of reports that claim to kill 54 BJP workers due to political violence. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will not attend the event. According to the Chief Minister’s Office, nobody from the Kerala government including the Chief Minister will be present in the ceremony on Thursday. According to PTI, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina who is on a three-nation foreign visit will miss the event.

Menu:

Rashtrapati Bhavan will serve a light dinner for the visiting dignitaries besides high tea after the 7 pm ceremony, according to reports. While the high tea will serve vegetarian fare ranging from samosas to Rajbhog and lemon tarts, the dinner will include both vegetarian and non-vegetarian fare.

The President’s kitchen has taken into consideration that many visiting dignitaries are from countries to India’s east whose cuisine is usually not very rich or heavy, and the timing of the event will make it rather a late meal for them when compared to their local time.

The signature ‘Dal Raisina’, which will the highlight of the dinner, is already being cooked. The cooking of his specialty of Rashtrapati Bhavan takes 48 hours and the process started on Tuesday night.

Government offices around Rashtrapati Bhavan to remain shut:

In view of the swearing-in ceremony, government offices located near Rashtrapati Bhavan would remain closed on Thursday. While the offices located in the North Block, South Block, Rail Bhawan, Vayu Bhawan, Sena Bhawan, DRDO and Hutments would be closed at 2 pm on May 30.

Who attended PM Modi’s swearing-in ceremony in 2014?

In 2014, the swearing-in ceremony of Narendra Modi was attended by SAARC leaders, the then Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif, and Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The event was attended by 2,000 other people.

(With inputs from agencies)