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Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken oath to the highest office in India. Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Sadananda Gowda and Nitin Gadkari have also taken their oaths of office, administered by the President Ram Nath Kovind.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, 30 May, held a final round of consultations with BJP president Amit Shah and is learnt to have given shape to his council of ministers ahead of the swearing-in ceremony of his new government in the evening.
Modi and Shah have held several rounds of discussions in the last two days ahead of government formation.
Earlier in the day, Bihar ChiefM inister Nitish Kumar announced that the JD(U) will not be a part of PM Narendra Modi's government. Similarly, AIADMK is not a part of Modi’s new council of ministers.
The possible ministers met Modi for high tea at his official residence, 7, Lok Kalyan Marg, at 4:30 pm, news agency IANS quoted sources as saying. The ceremony has been underway at Rashtrapati Bhavan since 7 pm.
Here is the full list of Ministers:
Here’s a list of the elected MPs from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) who had got a phone call for the swearing-in ceremony.
Senior BJP leaders such as Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala Sitharaman, Piyush Goyal, Narendra Singh Tomar, Prakash Javadekar, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Dharmendra Pradhan and Smriti Irani are joining the second Modi government. They were all ministers in the first NDA government too.
Among other first-timers, there are Amit Shah, Ramesh Pokhriyal, Pralhad Joshi, Angadi Suresh, Rattan Lal Kataria, A Ravindranath, Som Prakash, Rameshwar Teli and Kailash Choudhary.
Among allies, Ram Vilas Paswan of the LJP, Arvind Sawant of Shiv Sena, Harsimrat Kaur Badal of Akali Dal and Ramdas Athawale of RPI(A) have also taken oath.
The sources reportedly said that Modi government 2.0 will showcase the party's newfound strength in different regions.
BJP allies like Shiv Sena, LJP, Akali Dal and Apna Dal are set to be represented in the government.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's decision to opt out on health grounds has fuelled speculation claimants to the coveted portfolio. Railways Minister Goyal, who filled in for Jaitley and presented the pre-election budget, is being seen as a key contender.
The BJP had refrained from making any official comment about the likely members of the government, with its leaders asserting that it is the prime minister's prerogative.
Capping a landslide election victory, Modi will take oath along with a new council of ministers for a second term at 7 pm.
(With inputs from PTI and IANS)
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Published: 30 May 2019,03:23 PM IST