Modi Takes Oath As PM, Reddy In Cabinet

Prime Minister Narendra Modi took his oath of office for a second term today. Modi and his council of ministers are being administered the oath by President Ram Nath Kovind. The ceremony is attended by 8,000 invitees, including opposition leaders, corporate honchos, film stars and leaders from BIMSTEC countries.

By winning 303 seats, the Bharatiya Janata Party got the decisive mandate to rule the country for the next five years. Even though the party has the required numbers to form the government on its own, it has decided to accommodate its allies (NDA) in the Ministries.

Modi has included BJP president Amit Shah and ex-diplomat S Jaishankar in his cabinet. Sushma Swaraj and several other ex-ministers are not part of the new council of ministers.

BJP’s first-time MP from Telangana, G Kishan Reddy took oath as Union Minister in Narendra Modi’s ministry. He was elected to the Lok Sabha from Secunderabad constituency.

Unexpectedly, Nitish Kumar’s JD (U) has decided to not join the cabinet, upset with just one of its leaders, RCP Singh, being given a berth. The JD (U) had won 16 of the 17 seats it contested in Bihar in alliance with the BJP.