India election: Modi to be sworn in for third term as PM on June 9

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NEW DELHI/BENGALURU -- Election Commission officials on June 4 counted ballots cast over India's six-week general election, which ended on June 1.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party unexpectedly lost its outright majority for the first time since coming to power a decade ago, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi has secured a third term in office with the backing of alliance partners.

Analysts say losing a majority could hurt Modi's reform agenda as he would need to win over allies instead of calling the shots.

Read our latest updates here. For all our coverage, visit our India election page.

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Here is how the election unfolded (times are in India Standard Time):

Friday (June 7)

7:30 p.m. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi says that President Droupadi Murmu has invited him to form a government, as he promised his new coalition of 15 parties would strive for unanimity and emerge successful, Reuters reports. The new government is set to be sworn in on Sunday evening, which would make Modi prime minister for a historic third consecutive term.

Thursday (June 6)

5:00 p.m. During India's six-week elections, most political pundits had predicted a landslide victory for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party.

They were in for a shock when the results of the world's largest elections rolled in on Tuesday. The ruling party lost its outright majority for the first time since coming to power a decade ago. The BJP took just 240 seats in the