On 9 Jun, ministers from the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) govt. took their oath of office. Narendra Modi is once again the PM of India, matching India’s first PM Jawaharlal Nehru’s record three swearings-in. Unlike the earlier two terms when the BJP enjoyed majority by itself, this time they are banking on two major and many minor partners among their 11 allies. Of the 72 ministers sworn in, 43 are on their third term or more and 39 are past ministers in the union govt. 7 of them are past CMs. 34 are past Members of Legislative Assemblies (MLAs) and 23 are past ministers at the state level. 27 leaders are from Other Backward Castes, 10 from Scheduled Castes, 5 from Scheduled Tribes, and 5 from religious minorities. The Constitution allows members of the Rajya Sabha (Upper House) to become ministers, and allows unelected members to become ministers if they win a parliamentary by-election or a Rajya Sabha seat within six months. Ravneet Singh Bittu, who lost from Ludhiana, is now a Minister of State. From the opposition, only head of INC Mallikarjun Kharge attended the swearing-in. On 10 Jun, ministerial portfolios were announced. The press speculated that key allies Nitish Kumar (Janta Dal United) and Chandrababu Naidu (Telugu Desam Party) would wrangle for key posts but did not prevail. The top ministries (Home, Defence, Foreign Affairs, and Finance) went to incumbent ministers – Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, S Jaishankar and Nirmala Sitharaman, respectively.
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