Prime Minister Narendra Modi took oath today along with 72 ministers of the new coalition government. Thirty of them are Cabinet Ministers, five independent charge, and 36 Ministers of State. The portfolios will be announced later.
PM Modi, 73, will head a coalition government in his third term, or Modi 3.0, for the first time since he became Prime Minister in 2014 following a huge “Brand Modi” victory after 10 years of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) rule.
He is the second Prime Minister after Jawaharlal Nehru to be elected for a third term in a row.
The oath ceremony is being held at the lawns of the Rashtrapati Bhavan, with the weather office forecasting a maximum temperature of 42 degree Celsius in the national capital.
President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath to PM Modi. Rajnath Singh and Amit Shah took oath after him. Nitin Gadkari was the fourth leader to be administered the oath of office by the President. JP Nadda, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Nirmala Sitharaman, S Jaishankar, and Manohar Lal Khattar followed in taking oath.
HD Kumaraswamy of the Janata Dal (Secular), who took oath after Mr Khattar, was the first leader from any of the BJP’s allies in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to take oath. Soon after, Janata Dal (United) leader Lalan Singh, a close aide of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, also took oath.
Sarbananda Sonowal was the first leader from the northeast to take oath today, Kiren Rijiju the second.
Virendra Kumar, a prominent Scheduled Castes face of the BJP and eight-time MP, was inducted into the Narendra Modi government. He won the election from Madhya Pradesh’s Tikamgarh reserved seat.
Supporters of leaders who have been called to the stage clapped and cheered loudly, as they saw their leaders walk towards the mic to be administered oath by the President.
Jyotiraditya Scindia’s induction into the Modi 3.0 council of minister has cemented his importance in the BJP since he left the Congress four years ago, marking the beginning of his second stint in the Union cabinet.
Hardeep Singh Puri, the former diplomat who helped India navigate through two back-to-back oil crises, was among the ministers sworn in today.
Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan has solidified his status as the “real” political heir of his father, Ram Vilas Paswan, after he was inducted into the Narendra Modi government today. With this, Chirag Paswan makes a remarkable comeback in Bihar’s turbulent political landscape.
Leaders from India’s neighbourhood and the Indian Ocean Region including Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe, the Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu, and Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina attended the event.
