India Swears in 72 New Ministers and Ministers of State
Narendra Modi has been sworn in as Prime Minister of India for the third time. The swearing-in ceremony took place at the Presidential Palace on Sunday at 7:45 PM Bangladesh time, administered by Indian President Droupadi Murmu.
Following Modi's oath, 72 ministers and ministers of state from the new coalition government took their oaths. This includes 30 cabinet ministers, 5 ministers with independent charge, and 36 ministers of state. The specific ministries they will oversee will be announced later.
Modi first became Prime Minister in 2014. At 73 years old, he now leads a coalition government for the third term, making him the second Prime Minister after Jawaharlal Nehru to be elected for three consecutive terms.
In this election, Modi won from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh with a margin of 150,000 votes, significantly less than his 2019 victory margin.
This time, Modi's party, the BJP, did not achieve an outright majority. The Indian Lok Sabha has 543 seats, with a minimum of 272 required for a single-party majority. The BJP secured 240 seats, but their NDA coalition won a total of 293 seats, enabling them to form the government with the President's approval.
The swearing-in ceremony was attended by notable international leaders, including Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth, Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu, Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe, Bhutan Prime Minister Lotay Tshering, Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda', and Seychelles Vice President Ahmed Afif.
Prominent figures present at the event included Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala Sitharaman, Dr. S. Jaishankar, Dharmendra Pradhan, Ashwini Vaishnaw, and Piyush Goyal. Additionally, senior BJP leaders Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Jyotiraditya Scindia, JD(U) leader Rajiv Ranjan Singh, HAM leader Jitan Ram Manjhi, RLD’s Jayant Chaudhary, JD(S) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy, LJP (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan, and Jitin Prasada were also in attendance
