India (Commonwealth Union)_ The world’s largest election finally culminated with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s grand oath-taking ceremony in India’s national capital, New Delhi. Accordingly, PM Modi, accompanied by his 72 ministers of the new coalition government, took the oath of office in a grand ceremony on Sunday. Among them, thirty hold Cabinet Minister positions, five have independent charge, and 36 serve as Ministers of State, and the allocation of portfolios will be announced at a later time. In this year’s election, PM Modi’s party, the BJP, secured 240 seats, falling short of a 32 majority in the 543-member lower house. However, with the support of allies, especially with 28 south seats from Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) managed to surpass the 272-majority mark, obtaining a total of 293 seats.
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With the favorable election results, PM Modi, at the age of 73, begins his third term leading a coalition government, dubbed Modi 3.0, marking the first instance of such a coalition since his initial assumption of office in 2014, following a significant victory attributed to the “Brand Modi” campaign, succeeding ten years of United Progressive Alliance (UPA) rule. Accordingly, he joins Jawaharlal Nehru as the second Prime Minister to be elected for a third consecutive term. The oath-taking ceremony, held at the lawns of the Rashtrapati Bhavan, took place amid weather forecasts predicting a maximum temperature of 42 degrees Celsius in the national capital, with approximately 8,000 guests in attendance. As PM Modi, adorned in a smart white kurta and blue waistcoat, took the oath, the steps of the Rashtrapati Bhavan were lined with honor guards, drawing thousands of spectators. Following him were top BJP figures Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, and Nitin Gadkari.
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Accordingly, supporters enthusiastically applauded and cheered as leaders approached the microphone to take their oaths administered by the President. Furthermore, the Council of Ministers represented a diverse range of social groups, including 27 Other Backward Classes (OBC), ten Scheduled Castes (SC), five Scheduled Tribes (ST), and five minorities. Notably, 18 senior ministers were also assigned to key ministries. President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath to PM Modi, followed by other ministers including Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, and subsequent leaders. Additionally, the other Cabinet Ministers who were sworn in alongside PM Modi include Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, JP Nadda, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Nirmala Sitharaman, S Jaishankar, Manohar Lal Khattar, and others.
The Cabinet Ministers who were administered oath alongside PM Modi are Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, JP Nadda, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Nirmala Sitharaman, S Jaishankar, Manohar Lal Khattar, HD Kumaraswamy, Piyush Goyal, Dharmendra Pradhan, Jitan Ram Manjhi, Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh, Sarbananda Sonowal, Dr Virendra Kumar, Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu, Pralhad Joshi, Jual Oram, Giriraj Singh, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Bhupender Yadav, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Annapurna Devi, Kiren Rijiju, Hardeep Singh Puri, Mansukh Mandaviya, G Kishan Reddy,Chirag Paswan, and CR Patil. Additionally, among the Ministers of State with Independent Charge are Rao Inderjit Singh, Jitendra Singh, Arjun Ram Meghwal, Prataprao Ganpatrao Jadhav, and Jayant Chaudhary.
Furthermore, a list of Ministers of State was also announced, reflecting broad geographical and demographic representation across India. The state ministers are Jitin Prasada, Shripad Naik, Pankaj Chaudhary, Krishan, Pal Gurjar, Ramdas Athawale, Ram Nath Thakur, Nityanand Rai, Anupriya Patel, V Somanna, Dr Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani, SP Singh Baghel, Shobha Karandlaje, Kirti Vardhan Singh, BL Verma, Shantanu Thakur, Suresh Gopi, L Murugan, Ajay Tamta, Bandi Sanjay Kumar, Kamlesh Paswan, Bhagirath Chaudhary, Satish Chandra Dubey, Sanjay Seth, Ravneet Singh Bittu, Durga Das Uikey, Raksha Khadse, Sukanta Majumdar, Savitri Thakur, Tokhan Sahu, Rajbhushan Chaudhary, Bhupathiraju Srinivasa Varma, Harsh Malhotra, Nimuben Jayantibhai Bambhaniya, Murlidhar Mohol, George Kurian, and Pabitra Margherita.
PM Modi’s third-term Cabinet demonstrates a notable emphasis on southern representation, a departure from previous compositions. Despite no significant change in the BJP’s southern seat tally, 13 ministers hail from southern states, including Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. Notably, the BJP got 28 seats from Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh alone to gain the 272 majority. Accordingly, of the 13 southern ministers, 5 ministers hail from Karnataka. Notable ministers from the south are former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy, Nirmala Sitharaman, Pralhad Joshi, Shobha Karandlaje, V Somanna, G Kishan Reddy, Bandi Sanjay Kumar, Suresh Gopi, George Kurian, and L Murugan.
Furthermore, notable attendees at the swearing-in ceremony included global leaders from neighboring nations and the Indian Ocean Region, including Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe; the Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu; Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’; Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth; Bhutanese counterpart Tshering Tobgay; Vice-President of the Seychelles Ahmed Afif; and Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. However, China and Pakistan notably did not send high-ranking officials. Additionally, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge attended Narendra Modi’s oath-taking ceremony as a Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha. Moreover, the leaders of regional grouping SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) countries also took part in the historic oath-taking ceremony. This gathering reaffirms India’s regional diplomatic engagement, which has been a hallmark of Modi’s tenure. Overall, embarking on his historic third term as the proud Prime Minister of the world’s most populous country and the third largest economy, PM Modi has a long and challenging path ahead of his political career. Best of luck Mr. Modi.
