Narendra Modi sworn in as Prime Minister for third consecutive term

Narendra Modi was sworn in as Prime Minister for the third consecutive time at a ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan, and attended by political leaders, dignitaries, prominent businessmen and artistes of the country, on Sunday. With the swearing in, Modi is the only Prime Minister of India after Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru to secure a third consecutive term. Along with Modi, senior BJP leaders Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala Sitharaman and S Jaishankar were sworn in as Cabinet ministers. The ministers held important portfolios, including Home, Defence, Finance, Foreign affairs, and Highways and Transport, during Modi’s last term too. While J P Nadda made a return to the Cabinet after five years, the new faces in the Cabinet include former chief ministers Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Manohar Lal Khattar. Among those retained were also BJP leaders Piyush Goyal, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Dharmendra Pradhan and Bhupender Yadav, who were earlier in the Rajya Sabha but have now been elected to the Lok Sabha. President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath of office to the Prime Minister, Cabinet ministers and Ministers of State (MoS). Their respective portfolios are yet to be announced. Modi, 73, first became prime minister in 2014 and then returned to office in 2019. He was re-elected to Lok Sabha from Varanasi. Congress president and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge was also present at the event, even as several opposition leaders skipped the ceremony. Those present on the occasion included Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, TDP president Chandrababu Naidu and JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar. Bollywood actors Shahrukh Khan and Rajinikanth, and industrialists Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani were among those who attended the swearing-in ceremony. With PTI inputs