Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s newly elected cabinet of 71 ministers was sworn in on Sunday, June 9, along with him for his third consecutive term. The first cabinet meeting was held on Monday, June 10, in the national capital of Delhi. Prominent figures such as Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, JP Nadda, Shivraj Singh Chauhan, Nirmala Sitharaman, S Jaishankar, ML Khattar, HD Kumaraswamy, Piyush Goyal, Dharmendra Pradhan, Jitan Ram Manjhi, Rajeev Ranjan Singh, Sarbananda Sonowal, and Dr Virendra Kumar were among those who took the oath. Notably, five allies, including JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy, HAM (Secular) chief Jitan Ram Manjhi, JD(U) leader Rajiv Ranjan Singh ‘Lalan’, TDP’s K Ram Mohan Naidu, and LJP-RV leader Chirag Paswan, were each given one cabinet berth.
The allocation of portfolios has not yet been announced by Prime Minister Modi, who held the first meeting of his new cabinet on Monday evening. The newly inducted ministers arrived at the prime minister’s residence around 5 pm for the meeting.
According to reports, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), led by Ajit Pawar, expressed disappointment over not receiving a cabinet post and having its MPs assigned Minister of State roles. The Shiv Sena camp led by Eknath Shinde also expressed discontent, claiming that despite having more Lok Sabha seats than other allies, they only received one Minister of State (MoS) post with independent charge.
The new government includes seven women ministers, two of whom hold cabinet positions. Notably, there are no Muslim lawmakers among the ministers, unlike in Modi’s previous governments. In terms of coalition representation, the 11 posts allotted to allies include two each for the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the Janata Dal (United) party of Bihar, and one each for JD(S), HAM(S), LJP (Ram Vilas), and the Republican Party of India (A).
Several former ministers, including Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nirmala Sitharaman, and S Jaishankar, have been retained in the new government. Meanwhile, Anurag Thakur, who won from the Hamirpur Lok Sabha seat, expressed his best wishes and congratulations to the Prime Minister on his third term and extended his support to the ministers in their endeavors.
The oath-taking ceremony was held in the presence of President Droupadi Murmu, who administered the oaths of office and secrecy to the ministers. In the new Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led NDA coalition government, Modi and 30 cabinet ministers, five ministers of state (MoS) with independent charge, and 36 MoS took the oath.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif offered his delayed congratulations to his counterpart Narendra Modi on his re-election. This is the first official comment from Pakistan since the election results were announced last week.
In his first address to officials at the Prime Minister’s Office, Modi emphasized the importance of stability and resolution. He highlighted the collective efforts and collaboration that are crucial for the government to meet its capabilities and deliver for the common man.
