Narendra Modi was sworn in for a historic third time as Prime Minister of India in a ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan in the presence of around 9000 invitees, including heads of state from several countries.
President Draupadi Murmu administered the oath of office to Narendra Modi and 30 other cabinet ministers, 5 ministers of state with independent charge, and 36 junior ministers.
Gujarat is represented in the Modi 3.0 cabinet with six MPs. In the news with zero surprise value, Amit Shah, an integral part of the Modi machine since his CM days in Gujarat, is in the new cabinet. S. Jaishankar and Mansukh Mandaviya, who were holding important portfolios of external affairs and health, respectively, in the previous government, are repeated.
BJP national president J P Nadda and state BJP president C. R. Paatil are included in the cabinet for the first time. CR Paatil is an MP from Navsari, having won continuously for four terms with record margins. J. P. Nadda represents Gujarat in the Rajya Sabha. He was elected to the seat vacated by Parshottam Rupala in April 2024.
Surprisingly, the first-time MP from Bhavnagar, Nimuben Bambhania, finds a place in the cabinet. A former mayor of Bhavnagar, Nimuben, won the Bhavnagar seat by a margin of more than 4,50,000 votes.
While the five male leaders included in the cabinet are political heavyweights, the inclusion of Nimuben might be a cause for heartburn for several of her colleagues. The third-time winner from Jamnagar Punamben Madam from Ahir community and a seven-term MP from Bharuch Mansukh Vasava, who retained a seat otherwise going to Chaitar Vasava of INDIA, did not find a place in the cabinet.
Parshottam Rupala, who found himself in the eye of a storm with his remarks on the Kshatriya community, is not repeated despite his win from Rajkot. Devusinh Chauhan, who was a minister of state for communication in the previous government, was also dropped. Two other ministers in the previous cabinet, Darshana Jardosh from Surat and Mahendra Munjpara from Surendranagar, were not given tickets by the BJP for reelection.
