Historic Day As Narendra Modi Does A Hattrick As PM, 72 Others Also Sworn In – OpEd

Signaling both continuity & change, Modi balances new and old faces. Hope and anticipation continues regarding portfolio allocation 

It was a historic day, as amidst a star-studded ceremony attended by ten thousand persons drawn from all walks of life and many national and international dignitaries, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Narendra Modi took oath as the Prime Minister of India for the third consecutive time. The scorching heat did not prevent the crowds from cheering enthusiastically for Modi who read his oath in Hindi. Supporters cheered, clapped and chanted “Modi, Modi” as Modi dressed in a white kurta tunic and blue half jacket, walked the aisle to take oath.

Modi is the second PM of India, after Congress stalwart Jawaharlal Nehru, who will run three consecutive terms as Prime Minister.

In a glittering oath-taking ceremony held at the majestic Rashtrapati Bhawan ground in New Delhi, 72 leaders from BJP and constituent parties of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), were sworn into the Modi 3.0 council of ministers. These included 61 from BJP and 11 from partner allies. These 72 ministers, including 30 cabinet ministers, five with independent charge and 36 ministers of state, also took oath along with Modi.

The lush green capital city of New Delhi looked like a fortress today with security across the capital having been beefed up and Rashtrapati Bhawan particularly under three-tier security till June 11.;

It has been a tough balancing act to include representatives of the two major allies in the newly-sworn council of ministers, the two partner-parties being the Telugu Desam Party from southern state of Andhra Pradesh and the Janata Dal )United) of the eastern state of Bihar. TDP leader Chandrabanu Naidu and JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar are the two kingmakers of this government. While Naidu has been the CM of Andhra Pradesh earlier and will once again be sworn in as chief minister of divided AP tomorrow, Nitish is Bihar’s longest serving chief minister, and also holding the post for 9th term.;

The NDA was formed in May 1998 as a coalition to contest the general elections. The main aim of the NDA was to form an anti Indian National Congress coalition. It was led by the BJP, and included several regional parties.

The alliance lost 60 seats in the 2024 elections but enough to form a coalition government, a first in over 10 years. On 7 June 2024, Modi confirmed the support of 293 MPs to President Droupadi Murmu, this marking his third term as Prime Minister and his first time heading a coalition government.

The reduced majority of the BJP has provided its allies with leverage to assert their preferences in both policymaking and ministry allocations. As the largest party in the coalition, the BJP must negotiate the demands of its allies.

While the coalition partners are eyeing coveted portfolios, key ministries such as Home, Defence, Foreign Affairs, and Finance are considered non-negotiable, with the BJP planning to retain these portfolios. The party aims to maintain control over ministries that have been the Modi government’s hallmark or have received the Prime Minister’s personal attention. The portfolios are expected to be announced in a few hours.

Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala Sitharaman, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, and Piyush Goyal were among the senior ministers who took oath after Modi’s swearing-in. They are familiar names who have been in the government for the last ten years. BJP’s veteran leader and four-time Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan was also sworn into the Union Cabinet.;

Others back in Cabinet were Dharmendra Pradhan, Pralhad Joshi, Sarbananda Sonowal, Virendra Kumar, Giriraj Singh, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Ashwini Vaishnaw,; Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Kiren Rijiju, Hardeep Singh Puri, Mansukh Mandaviya, Bhupender Yadav and G Kishan Reddy.

Top leaders from India’s neighborhood and the Indian Ocean region including Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu, Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe, Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, Bhutanese PM Tshering Tobgay, Bangladesh President Sheikh Hasina and Vice-President of Seychelles Ahmed Afif were among the dignitaries and special invitees who attended the swearing-in ceremony of the prime minister and his council of ministers.