The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi who took oath as Prime Minister Thursday with his new council of ministers, after NDA led by the BJP managed a landslide victory. It returned to power with a massive haul of 352 seats in the Lok Sabha elections. The BJP won 303 seats on its own. Over 50 ministers joined him in the swearing-in held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan with two of allied of NDA opting out of the council of minister for the time being.
It was a glittering ceremony in which politicians, world leaders, dignitaries, film personalities and industrialists took part in large numbers.
The Prime Minister has sprang few surprises in his new Council of Ministers that has 24 Cabinet ministers, nine Ministers of State with independent charge and 24 Ministers of State. There are a total of 24 new faces. Sushma Swaraj, Suresh Prabhu, Maneka Gandhi, Uma Bharti, Mahesh Sharma, Radha Mohan Singh, Rajyavardhan Rathore, Jayant Sinha, Jual Oram and Ram Kripal Yadav, who were part of the previous Cabinet, did not feature in the new Council of Ministers.
Just before the ceremony, JD (U) leader Nitish Kumar, said his party would not be a part of the government because the BJP's offer of one cabinet berth was not acceptable. Nitish Kumar, the Chief Minister of Bihar, had reportedly asked for two ministries. The BJP's another ally AIADMK has also opted out, apparently because of disagreements over who would be included in the government.
Expectations are high on the new team. While it is the prerogative of the Prime Minister to choose his team of his choice, this team seems lacking some top experienced hands while some ministers who have been behaving highly high-handed and arrogantly and unpopular in their constituency are being retained in the council of ministers with multiple and important ministries. Yes! The new council of ministers has also people who have excelled as Parliamentarians and those who have had distinguished professional careers.
