Narendra Modi takes oath as PM for third term, 30 cabinet ministers in 71-member team from BJP, allies

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi took oath for his third term in office on Sunday, with a crowd of 10,000 (as announced at the venue) invitees – celebrities, industrialists, political leaders, friends, supporters, foreign dignitaries -- applauding and cheering the rare feat, at the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhawan on Sunday, just as the sun went down on a warm summer evening, in the backdrop of the dome, the arches and pillars that lit up with the national colours –saffron, white and green lights.

All eyes looked out for the surprises in the four rows of ministers who followed Modi, as President Draupadi Murmu administered the oath of office in a two-and-half hour ceremony that saw seven women.

Besides Modi, 30 cabinet ministers and five ministers of state with independent charge were sworn-in as were the members of his council of ministers.

Loud cheering for young Rammohan Rao (TDP), a seasoned Jiten Ram Majhi (HAM), and BJP seniors Amit Shah and Nitin Gadkari were heard when their names were called.

Typically, the first timers, young and old were busy clicking selfies and photos on their phone camera, while some were even doing commentary for videos that they were shooting, like Youtubers from the spot. That they were doing it in local Hindi dialects, in Telegu or in other languages, created a melee of diverse languages that the country celebrates, interestingly when a coalition government was being sworn-in with a good portion of southern spices thrown in. This BJP led Modi government has ministers who hail from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telengana, Karnataka and even Kerala where BJP has won its first Lok Sabha seat this time. The chatter in the benches was obviously about who will which portfolio after the swearing-in.

Among those who attended Modi’s third swearing-in were seven top leaders from India's neighbourhood and the Indian Ocean region - Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Mauritius President Mohamed Muizzu, Nepal's Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda, Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe, Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, Bhutan's Tshering Tobgay and Seychelles’ Vice President Ahmed Afif.

The front row of VIPs attending also included film stars Shahrukh Khan, Anil Kapoor and Rajinikanth, Akshay Kumar, Raveena Tandon, Anupam Kher among a few others, industrialists Mukesh Ambani, Gautam Adani and their families. Chief Justice DY Chandrachud was present with his wife, former Presidents Ram Nath Kovind and Pratibha Patil were also there.

Also unmissable were the several religious leaders attending the ceremony.

While there were seniors, like Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Amit Shah, Nirmala Sitharaman, S Jaishankar, J P Nadda who were sworn in, there were fresh faces like two former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan (Madhya Pradesh) and Manohar Lal Khattar (Haryana).

There weren't too many opposition leaders. Congress president and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge was there but several others skipped the ceremony.

Among the invitees were also people from the transgender community as well as sanitation workers and labourers, who were involved in the construction of the new Parliament building.