Narendra Modi takes oath as PM for third consecutive time
Narendra Modi took oath as India's Prime Minister for the third time on Sunday at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath in the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhavan at 7:15pm. Alongside him, 72 ministers of the new coalition government also took their oaths. Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, JP Nadda, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, and Nirmala Sitharaman are among those who took oaths as cabinet ministers in the new government.
Modi taking oath
Composition of Modi's new coalition government
S Jaishankar, Manohar Lal Khattar, Piyush Goyal, and Janata Dal (Secular) leader H D Kumaraswamy took oaths as cabinet ministers in the new Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government. Dharmendra Pradhan, Jitan Ram Manjhi, Rajeev Ranjan Singh, Pralhad Joshi, Virendra Kumar, and Sarbananda Sonowal also took oaths as cabinet ministers. The new government comprises 30 cabinet ministers, five ministers of state with independent charge and 36 ministers of state. The specific portfolios for these ministers will be announced later.
Coalition formed despite BJP's lower seat count
This marks the first time Modi will be leading a coalition government since his first election in 2014. The BJP secured only 240 seats in this lok Sabha election. However, with support extended by N Chandrababu Naidu's Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Janata Dal United JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar's party, which won 16 and 12 Lok Sabha seats respectively, Modi's government has been able to form a coalition.
