NEW DELHI: Modi 2.0 swearing-in night confirmed the biggest speculation of them all. Amit Shah did take oath as a union minister in the new government.
His arrival in PM Modi's new cabinet turned out to be the headline event along with the induction of former foreign secretary S Jaishankar in an event touted to be the biggest ever at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
The other big news was the JD(U)'s decision to stay out of government after being offered just one berth. The AIADMK too has not been accommodated - at least not yet.
The swearing-in ceremony of Modi 2.0 sarkar in the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhavan was a grand affair with about 8,000 guests, including leaders from the BIMSTEC countries, Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, chief ministers, corporate honchos and film stars, watching on.
President Ram Nath Kovind administered the oath of office and secrecy to 68-year-old Modi and 57 of his new colleagues. The night ended with the Prime Minister thanking the gathering.
68-year-old Narendra Modi is set to take oath as the Prime Minister of India for the second consecutive term today. President Ram Kovind will administer the oath of office and secrecy at the function.
प्रधान मंत्री जी - आपने 5 वर्षों तक मुझे विदेश मंत्री के तौर पर देशवासियों और प्रवासी भारतीयों की सेवा करने का मौका दिया और पूरे कार्यकाल में व्यक्तिगत तौर पर भी बहुत सम्मान दिया. मैं आपके प्रति बहुत आभारी हूँ. हमारी सरकार बहुत यशस्विता से चले, प्रभु से मेरी यही प्रार्थना है.
— Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) May 30, 2019
He was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1998 and subsequently given the post of Minister of State of Information and Broadcasting in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. He was given additional charge of the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs from 2001 to 2003.
1. Santosh Kumar Gangwar
2. Rao Inderjit Singh
3. Shripad Yesso Naik
4. Dr Jitendra Singh
5. RK singh
6. Kiren Rijiju
7. Prahlad Singh Patel
8. Hardeep Singh Puri
9. Mansukh Mandaviya
1. Rajnath Singh
2. Amit Shah
3. Nitin Gadkari
4. DV Sadananda Gowda
5. Nirmala Sitharaman
6. Ram Vilas Paswan
7. Narendra Singh Tomar
8. Ravi Shankar Prasad
9. Harsimrat Kaur Badal
10. Thawarchand Gehlot
11. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar
12. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank
13. Arjun Munda
14. Smriti Irani
15. Dr Harsh Vardhan
16. Prakash Javdekar
17. Piyush Goyal
18. Dharmendra Pradhan
19. Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi
20. Prahlad Joshi
21. Mahendra Nath Pandey
22. Arvind Sawant
23. Giriraj Singh
24. Gajendra Singh Shekhawat
श्री @kishanreddybjp और श्री @PRupala ने राज्य मंत्री के रूप में शपथ ली। #ModiSwearinginhttps://t.co/iWDtcoQZCT pic.twitter.com/q3qzqVaYhU
— BJP (@BJP4India) May 30, 2019
#WATCH North 24 Parganas: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee gets off her car and confronts people chanting 'Jai Shri Ram' slogans, Banerjee says'These are all outsiders and BJP people, they are criminals and were abusing me. They are not from Bengal.' pic.twitter.com/haGjQmQYlv
— ANI (@ANI) May 30, 2019
Ahmedabad: Heeraben Modi, mother of PM Narendra Modi watching the swearing in ceremony pic.twitter.com/KLwXtMLuRN
— ANI (@ANI) May 30, 2019
Delhi: Ramvilas Paswan and Narendra Singh Tomar take oath as Union Ministers pic.twitter.com/Zc4Z2VsQ43
— ANI (@ANI) May 30, 2019
Delhi: Nitin Gadkari and Nirmala Sitharaman take oath as Union Ministers pic.twitter.com/1ZZTTO6NnP
— ANI (@ANI) May 30, 2019
Delhi: Narendra Modi arrives at Rashtrapati Bhawan #ModiSwearingIn pic.twitter.com/4JXKJC1pSP
— ANI (@ANI) May 30, 2019
Celebrations outside @BJP4Karnataka office in Bengaluru as @narendramodi_in is all set to take oath as @PMOIndia for a second term along with union council of ministers.
— TNIE@Bengaluru (@XpressBengaluru) May 30, 2019
Video by - @shrirambn @santwana99 @NewIndianXpress pic.twitter.com/qAZiH6FfLS
Congress President Rahul Gandhi and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi arrive at Rashtrapati Bhavan to attend PM Modi Swearing-in ceremony.
Bihar CM Nitish Kumar: They wanted only 1 person from JDU in the cabinet, so it would have been just a symbolic participation.We informed them that it is ok we don't need it. It is not a big issue, we are fully in NDA and not upset at all.We are working together,no confusion. (ANI)
Former Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh and senior BJP leader LK Advani arrive at Rashtrapati Bhawan. #ModiSwearingIn pic.twitter.com/C0CDxZMSJi
— ANI (@ANI) May 30, 2019
Actor Rajinikanth and his wife Latha arrive at Rashtrapati Bhavan ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's swearing-in ceremony.
NDA's lone MP from Tamil Nadu OP Ravindranath, who will be in PM Modi's Council of Ministers, will be the first AIADMK MP to get a ministerial berth in 21 years.
Balasore MP @pcsarangi gets call. @NewIndianXpress #Odisha#ModiSarkar2 #ModiCabinet #ModiSwearingIn pic.twitter.com/Iu2A45nBGU
— Hemant Kumar Rout (@TheHemantRout) May 30, 2019
Producer and veteran actor Jitendra on arrival in Delhi to attend PM Modi's oath taking ceremony: It's a historic moment. I'm a big follower of Modi Ji & an ardent fan. I think the country is in a beautiful hands. I am so happy for my countrymen and happy for myself to be here today.
President of Kyrgyzstan, Sooronbay Jeenbekov arrives in Delhi. He will attend PM Narendra Modi's oath ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhawan later today. pic.twitter.com/W9TELh12Ma
— ANI (@ANI) May 30, 2019
#ModiSwearingIn
— Sovi Vidyadharan (@vidyadharansovi) May 30, 2019
Former @BJP4Keralam president V Muraleedharan (@VMBJP) to be inducted into #Modi ministry. It’s a recognition for people of #Kerala, the Rajya Sabha MP says. @xpresskerala @NewIndianXpress
Nepal's Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli arrives in Delhi. He will attend Prime Minister Narendra Modi's oath ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhawan, later today.
Sukhbir Singh Badal, Shiromani Akali Dal President on attending the swearing-in ceremony of the PM today: It is a matter of joy that a new govt is being formed. Country needs a strong govt and it is getting one. (ANI)
Shripad Yesso Naik, BJP: I want to thank the Prime Minister and Party President Amit Shah for again giving me a chance of serving the country by making me a part of the government. I have been invited to the oath taking ceremony, not been informed of the ministry yet. pic.twitter.com/83FeL1quEV
— ANI (@ANI) May 30, 2019
In the week between the counting day and swearing-in ceremony on Thursday, social media posts and pictures of some of the newly elected members of the Lok Sabha have caused quite a stir.
Debasree Chaudhuri, BJP MP from Raiganj, West Bengal: Upcoming assembly election will be one-sided because TMC will not exist. Their MLAs and Councillors are joining BJP. TMC will not be able to do anything in next election. BJP will form the govt there. We will finish them in 5-6 months.
Anupam Kher on attending PM Modi's oath ceremony: It feels good to be a part of a historic event. Development was the focus for this Lok Sabha elections. As citizens of the country, it is time for us to also make our contribution to the country. (ANI)
Arjun Ram Meghwal, BJP: I thank the PM & Amit Shah ji for showing trust in me. I thank them on behalf of the people of Bikaner. PM's vision will be significant for India. He had said that we want to remove our tag of developing nation & make India a developed nation.
BJP leader Niranjan Jyoti: I have received a phone call from the party president. I express my gratitude to the prime minister for including me in his team.
#ModiMania- A salon in Bengaluru is offering free haircuts to celebrate @narendramodi_in taking oath as @PMOIndia for a second term.
— TNIE@Bengaluru (@XpressBengaluru) May 30, 2019
Video- @pushkarv @NewIndianXpress @santwana99 pic.twitter.com/Jnyj9IKEL5
Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) Chief Ram Vilas Paswan, BJP leaders Santosh Gangwar, Jeetendra Singh and Nityanand Rai to meet PM Narendra Modi at 4:30 PM today. (ANI)
B-town celebrities Vivek Oberoi and Boman Irani arrived in the national capital to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday.
It's a very important day for India and the people of the country. I am extremely fortunate to be a part of this ceremony. We should not have false expectation from anybody or ourselves. We should keep doing our job putting right foot forward, Film director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra to ANI.
.@JanataDal_S supremo @H_D_Devegowda won't be attending this evening's swearing-in ceremony of @narendramodi & union council of ministers. Ill-health being cited as reason. @NewIndianXpress @XpressBengaluru
— Anusha Ravi (@anusharavi10) May 30, 2019
Senior party leaders like Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala Sitharaman, Narendra Singh Tomar, Prakash Javadekar, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Dharmendra Pradhan and Smriti Irani are likely to join the second Modi government after being its members in its first avatar.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's decision to opt out on health grounds has fuelled speculation about who will get his coveted portfolio.Railway Minister Piyush Goyal, who filled in for Jaitley and presented the populist pre-election budget, is being seen as a key contender.
The Lok Janshakti Party has already passed a resolution recommending its president Ram Vilas Paswan as the party's representative in the Modi government.
The Shiv Sena has confirmed its leader Arvind Sawant, who defeated Congress heavyweight Milind Deora from Mumbai, will be its nominee in the council of ministers.
The Shiv Sena has confirmed its leader Arvind Sawant, who defeated Congress heavyweight Milind Deora from Mumbai, will be its nominee in the council of ministers.
BJP allies like Shiv Sena, JD(U), AIADMK, LJP, Akali Dal and Apna Dal are set to be represented in the government. Each NDA ally is likely to get one cabinet berth, sources said.
We remember beloved Atal Ji every single moment.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 30, 2019
He would have been very happy to see BJP get such a great opportunity to serve people.
Motivated by Atal Ji’s life and work, we will strive to enhance good governance and transform lives.
Here are glimpses from ‘Sadaiv Atal.’ pic.twitter.com/7LXNkU0DP4
India is proud of all those brave men and women martyred in the line of duty.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 30, 2019
Paid tributes to our brave soldiers at the Rashtriya Samar Smarak.
Our Government will leave no stone unturned to safeguard India’s unity and integrity. National security is our priority. pic.twitter.com/jMR2tGOJDH
Outgoing Defence Minister and BJP leader Nirmala Sitharaman also accompanied Modi along with Army Chief Gen. Bipin Rawat, Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba and Vice Chief of Air Force Air Marshal RKS Bhadauria. Earlier in the day, Modi also paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee here ahead of his swearing-in ceremony today evening.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday visited the National War Memorial here and paid tribute to the jawans who laid down their lives for the country post-independence.