New Delhi: President Droupadi Murmu on Friday appointed NDA parliamentary party leader Narendra Modi as Prime Minister-designate and the new government will take oath on Sunday evening.

Murmu handed over the letter of appointment to Modi, who called on her at the Rashtrapati Bhavan here on Friday evening.

Earlier, leaders of the BJP-led NDA had called on Murmu and handed over letters of support for Modi, who was elected as the leader of the NDA Parliamentary Party.

Addressing the media in the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Modi said he has been appointed as Prime Minister-designate by the President.

"The President has asked me to work as the PM-designate and she has informed me about the oath ceremony," Modi said and added that he has informed the President that they will be comfortable if the event is held on the evening of June 9.

He said the Rashtrapati Bhavan will work out the details of the oath taking ceremony on Sunday by then he would hand over the list of the Council of Ministers to the President.

"This 18th Lok Sabha is an important milestone towards fulfilling those dreams when the country will celebrate the 100 years of independence in 2047," Modi said.

This 18th Lok Sabha is a House of new energy, youthful energy, and people have given the NDA government one more chance, Modi said.

The BJP-led NDA won 293 seats in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections and enjoys a majority in the 543-member House. 

Earlier, senior BJP leader Pralhad Joshi said  at the NDA parliamentary party meeting that Narendra Modi will take oath as Prime Minister for the third time on Sunday,

Meanwhile, Suresh Gopi, the elected MP from Thrissur is likely to be inducted into the central cabinet. However, no official confirmation regarding this has been received so far. 

The oath-taking ceremony will take place at 6 pm on June 9, Joshi told the NDA leaders assembled here at the Central Hall of the old Parliament Building to elect Modi as their leader.

Besides Naidu, Kumar and Shinde, Chirag Paswan, Jitan Ram Manjhi, Anupriya Patel and Pawan Kalyan were among the NDA leaders present on the main dais, alongside senior BJP leaders.

Senior BJP leaders, including Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh and Nadda, have also been holding deliberations with allies to work out an amicable formula for their share of representation in the new government, which will critically depend on them for survival.

The BJP leadership has moved swiftly since the June 4 results for government formation to end any sense of uncertainty after the verdict, which was a setback to the ruling party as it lost majority for the first time since 2014 and needs allies' support to maintain its hold on power. PTI