Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman congratulated Indian PM Narendra Modi after he won the general polls and returned to power for the third straight term.

“HRH Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman congratulates the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his political party’s victory in the general elections,” read the statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia.

President Droupadi Murmu Friday invited Narendra Modi, chosen as leader of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), to form the next union government, days after the coalition comfortably won the 2024 Lok Sabha election.

Modi and the members of his new cabinet will take the oath of office at 6 pm Sunday.

A statement from Rashtrapati Bhavan said Murmu had "satisfied herself on the basis of various letters of support received, that the BJP-led NDA alliance... is in a position to command a majority support of the newly constituted 18th Lok Sabha and form a stable government."

The communique said it had, therefore, appointed Narendra Modi as Prime Minister of India.

Speaking outside the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Modi said the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA will form a strong, stable, and growth-oriented government.

Modi will be the second politician after Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru to become Prime Minister for the third consecutive term.

However, unlike his previous two terms, Modi this time required the support of his allies to form a government as the BJP stopped at 240, 32 short of the majority mark (272).

The TDP (16 seats), JDU (12 seats), Eknath Shinde faction of Shiv Sena (7 seats) and Chirag Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party-Ram Vilas (5 seats) have emerged as the kingmakers.