New Delhi: Narendra Damodardas Modi on Monday took charge as the 15th Prime Minister of India. The 63-year-old Modi was sworn in on the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhawan by President Pranab Mukherjee. He will take charge of the office of the Prime Minister on Tuesday morning. It has been a prolific rise for a man who joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in 1971 as a pracharak and went on to be elected as the Chief Minister of Gujarat for four consecutive times. After leading the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to a stunning mandate in the recent Lok Sabha polls by winning over 280 seats, he will now be the Prime Minister of India's for the next 5 years.
Soon after taking the oath of office, Modi in a message to the country sought the support of the people and the blessings. "On 16th May 2014 the people of India gave their verdict. They delivered a mandate for development, good governance and stability. As we devote ourselves to take India's development journey to newer heights, we seek your support, blessings and active participation. Together we will script a glorious future for India. Let us together dream of a strong, developed and inclusive India that actively engages with the global community to strengthen the cause of world peace and development," he said in his message. As his first message on the Prime Minister's official website, he also sought an active participation from the people on the same. "I envision this website as a very important medium of direct communication between us. I am a firm believer in the power of technology and social media to communicate with people across the world. I hope this platform creates opportunities to listen, learn and share one's views," he said.
Along with Modi, 45 other ministers took the oath of office in his Council of Ministers on Monday. His Cabinet will have 24 Cabinet Ministers, ten Ministers of State with Independent Charge and 12 Ministers of State. The top 3 portfolios in the Cabinet are being allotted to BJP President Rajnath Singh, who is likely to get the Home Ministry, Sushma Swaraj, who is likely to get External Affairs Minister and Arun Jaitley, who may get Finance Ministry with additional charge of Defence. M Venkaiah Naidu is likely to get Heavy Industries portfolio, Nitin Gadkari is likely to get Surface and Shipping transport ministries and Ravi Shankar Prasad likely to be in charge of Law and Telecom. Former Karnataka Chief Minister DV Sadananda Gowda is likely to get the Railways Ministry, Dr Najma Heptullah is likely to get Minority Affairs portfolio.
BJP MP from Maharashtra Gopinath Munde, Kalraj Mishra from UP, Maneka Gandhi from UP, Ananth Kumar from Karnataka, Ananth Geete from Maharashtra, Harsimrat Kaur from Punjab, Narendra Singh Tomar from MP, Jual Oram from Odisha, Thavarchand Gehlot from MP, Actor-turned politician Smriti Irani from Gujarat, Rajya Sabha member Najma Heptullah from Rajasthan, RSS leader Radha Mohan Singh and Harsh Vardhan from Delhi. Among the allies, LJP's Ram Vilas Paswan and TDP Ashok Gadpati Raju also took oath as Cabinet ministers on Monday. While other ministries have not yet been declared, soon after taking charge, Uma Bharati tweeted that she has sworn in as the Water Resources Minister.
