New Delhi:
Six former Chief Ministers will be part of the new cabinet of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is taking oath at the head of a council of 71 ministers today. His cabinet of 30 ministers will include the three-time Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Sinh Chouhan, former two-time Chief Minister of Haryana, Manohar Lal Khattar, former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Rajnath Singh and former Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal. From the NDA allies, there are Jitan Ram Manjhi and HD Kumaraswamy, who had helmed Bihar and Karnataka for short stints.
Before becoming Prime Minister, PM Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat.
Besides 30 Cabinet ministers, PM Modi’s new team includes five Ministers of State with Independent Charge and 36 junior ministers. Twenty-three other ministers in the council have served as ministers in states, 39 have been former ministers at the Centre.
The council includes 11 ministers from NDA allies, who are also bringing a wealth of experience and expertise.
Indicating PM Modi’s emphasis on continuity and experience, the cabinet’s top line-up included Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala Sitharaman, S Jaishankar, Piyush Goyal, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Dharmendra Pradhan, Bhupender Yadav, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Pralhad Joshi, and Giriraj Singh.
President Drpoupadi Murmu administered the oath of office to all the ministers.
The spotlight is on Chandrababu Naidu’s Telugu Desam Party, which won 16 seats, and Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal United, which added 12 seats to the NDA tally. The BJP has won 240 seats — 32 short of majority.
Around 9000 guests were present at the dazzling function at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Heads of sttae from India’s neighbourhood and the Indian Ocean region — Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu, Bangladesh Premier Sheikh Hasina, Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe, Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, Bhutanese PM Tshering Tobgay — and Vice-President of Seychelles Ahmed Afif were among the special guests at the function.
Among the leaders attending te ceremony were Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, TDP chief and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister-elect Chandrababu Naidu, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge.