A mega ceremony for the induction of new ministers in the Narendra Modi government started shortly after 6 pm in Rashtrapati Bhawan on Wednesday with President Ram Nath Kovind administering the oath of office to leaders. In an exercise meant to give more representation to those from different social and regional backgrounds, 43 ministers were inducted/promoted.
The reshuffle comes at a time when the BJP is bracing to face 5 state assembly elections next year, including the politically crucial Uttar Pradesh, and the government is trying for an image makeover to counter the intense Opposition criticism over the alleged gaps in the handling of the second wave of the COVID pandemic that brought the country to its knees.
Hours before the reshuffle, several union ministers resigned to facilitate the rejig. Among those who quit were Labour minister Santosh Gangwar, Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal, his MoS Sanjay Dhotre, MoS Women and Child Development Debasree Chaudhuri and Chemicals and Fertilizers Minister D V Sadananda Gowda. Yesterday, Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Thawarchand Gehlot quit after being appointed the Governor of Karnataka.
Before the induction of new ministers today, the strength of the Council of Ministers was 53, including PM Modi. The Cabinet strength can go up to 81. With the new additions, the number has gone up to 77.
Here are the updates from the oath-taking ceremony:
43) Nisith Pramanik, LS MP from Cooch Behar, Bengal, takes oath as minister.
42) L Murugan, lawyer Madras HC for 15 years before entering politics, takes oath as minister. Read more about him here.
41) Dr John Barla, LS MP from Alipurduar Bengal, takes oath as minister.
40) Dr Munjapara Mahendrabhai takes oath as minister.
39) Shantanu Thakur, LS MP from Bongaon, Bengal, takes oath as minister.
38) Bishveshwar Tudu, first-time MP from Mayurbhanj, Odisha, takes the oath as minister.
37) Bharati Pawar, former doctor, first-time LS MP from Dindori, Maharashtra, takes oath as minister.
36) Rajkumar Ranjan Singh, first-time LS MP from inner Manipur, takes oath as minister.
35) Bhagwat Kishan Rao Karad, first time MP Maharashtra, former mayor of Aurangabad, MS in General Surgery, RS MP from Maharashtra, takes the oath as minister.
34) Subhas Sarkar, LS MP from Bankura, Bengal, a first time MP from Bengal, takes oath as minister.
33) Pratima Bhoumik, first time MP from Tripura, with a background in farming, takes oath as minister.
32) Kapil Patil, LS MP from Bhiwandi Maharashtra, takes the oath as minister.
31) Bhagwanth Khuba, LS MP from Bidar, Karnataka, serving second-term MP, takes oath as minister.
30) Chauhan Devusinh, 2nd time LS MP from Khera, Gujarat, takes oath as minister.
29) Ajay Kumar, second-term MP from UP, LS MP for Kheri, UP, takes oath as minister.
28) BL Verma, 1st term RS MP From UP, takes the oath as minister.
27) Ajay Bhatt, LS MP Nainital-Udham Singh Nagar, takes the oath as minister.
26) Kaushal Kishore, second-term MP, former MoS UP government, takes the oath.
25) A Narayanswamy, LS MP from Chitradurg, Karnataka, takes the oath.
24) Annapurna Devi, who served as a cabinet minister in the government of Jharkhand, LS MP from Kodarma, Jharkhand, takes oath as minister. Read more about her here.
23) Meenakshi Lekhi, second-term MP from Delhi, takes oath as minister. Read more about her here.
22) Darshana Vikram Jardosh takes oath as minister.
21) Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma, LS MP for Jalaun UP, takes oath as minister.
20) Shobha Karandlaje takes oath as minister.
19) Rajeev Chandrasekhar, RS MP for Karnataka, takes oath as minister.
18) SP Singh Baghel, LS MP from Agra, takes oath as minister.
17) Anupriya Patel, LS MP from Mirzapur, UP, takes oath as minister. Read more about her.
16) Pankaj Choudhary takes the oath as minister.
15) Anurag Thakur, current MoS Finance, takes the oath.
14) G Kishan Reddy, MoS Home Affairs, takes the oath as minister.
13) Parshottam Rupala, MoS Agriculture, takes the oath as minister.
12) Bhupendra Yadav, RS MP from Rajasthan, LLB from government college, Ajmer, takes the oath as minister.
11) Mansukh Mandaviya, current Shipping and Waterways Minister and Current MoS chemical and fertilizers, takes the oath.
10) Hardeep Singh Puri, current Minister Housing and Urban Affairs, takes the oath as minister.
9) Raj Kumar Singh takes the oath as minister.
8) Kiren Rijiju, current MoS Minority Affairs, takes the oath.
7) Pashupati Kumar Paras, LS MP from Hajipur Bihar, takes the oath.
6) Ashwini Vaishnaw, former IAS officer, RS MP from Odisha, takes the oath.
5) Ramchandra Prasad Singh, RJ MP and BJP leader from Bihar, takes the oath.
4) Jyotiraditya Scindia, RS MP and BJP leader, takes the oath.
3) Dr Virendra Kumar, LS MP from Madhya Pradesh, takes the oath. Read more about him here.
2) Sarbananda Sonowal, former Assam CM and LS MP, takes the oath.
1) Narayan Rane, former Maharashtra CM and BJP MP, takes the oath.
* President arrives at the Ashoka Hall of the Rashtrapati Bhawan for the oath-taking ceremony.
* Oath-taking ceremony begins.
* PM Narendra Modi arrives at Rashtrapati Bhawan.
