Narendra Modi sworn in Gujarat CM for 4th time
Modi
was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor Kamla
Beniwal at a public ceremony on Wednesday marked by the presence of a
galaxy of top BJP leaders and allies as also conspicuous absence of any
representative of key alliance partner JD(U) and Opposition Congress.
Modi,
who became Chief Minister for the first time in 2001 and again in 2002
and 2007, was sworn in along with seven ministers of Cabinet rank and
nine Ministers of State.
Nitin
Patel, Anandi Patel, Raman Vora, Bhupendrasinh Chudasama, Saurabh
Patel, Ganpat Vasawa, Babhbhai Bokhiariya took oath as Cabinet
ministers, while Purshottam Solanki, Parbat Patel, Vasuben Trivedi,
Pradeepsinh Jadeja, Liladhar Vaghela, Rajnikant Patel, Govind Patel,
Nanubhai Vanani and Jayanti Kavadiya were sworn in as Ministers of
State.
"Took
oath as Guj's CM for the 4th time! A memorable day. I assure we will
live upto the faith people have reposed in us," Modi tweeted after the
ceremony.
"My
thanks to people, senior leaders & spiritual leaders who graced the
occasion & to all who watched the event live," Modi said on
microblogging site Twitter.
In
a show of unity amid lack of clarity over who would be BJP's prime
ministerial candidate in the 2014 general elections, the party's top
leadership including veteran L K Advani, Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley,
its leaders in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha respectively, Chief
Minister of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chouhan and his Chhattisgarh
and Karnataka counterparts Raman Singh and Jagdish Shettar were present.
The
presence of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa added grist to
speculation about a possible realignment of her AIADMK with BJP-led NDA.
Jayalalithaa is considered close to Modi, who had also attended her swearing-in ceremony when AIADMK returned to power.
Also
in attendance were Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal, Indian
National Lok Dal leader Om Prakash Chautala, Shiv Sena president Uddhav
Thackeray, his cousin and MNS chief Raj Thackeray and RPI leader Ramdas
Athawale among others.
In
an indication that Modi, despite his hat-trick of electoral triumphs
remains a polarising figure, nobody from main Opposition Congress,
Keshubhai Patel's Gujarat Parivartan Party or key ally JD(U) was
present.
As
expected, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who has been keeping
distance from Modi, as also his deputy Sushil Kumar Modi of BJP, were
conspicuous by their absence.
However, Bihar BJP president C P Thakur attended the ceremony. JD(U) is running a coalition government in Bihar with BJP since November 2005.
A
battery of saffron-clad sadhus and spiritual leaders were also present.
Modi's mother Heeraben, who was seated among the dignitaries, was seen
flashing the victory sign after her son took oath in Gujarati amid
chants of "Bharat Mata Ki Jai (Victory be to mother India)."
After
the swearing-in ceremony, Modi took a victory lap of the Sardar Patel
stadium on a flower-bedecked open-top jeep as thousands of supporters
cheered lustily.
Modi
had on Thursday led the BJP to an emphatic victory winning 115 seats in
the 182-member state assembly, just two less that the previous
elections, beating the incumbency factor and a feeble Opposition
challenge.
Prominent
faces missing from the council of ministers included former Finance
Minister Vaju Vala, a 7-time MLA from Rajkot West, former Panchayati Raj
Minister Narottam Patel and former Forest and Environment Minister Mangu Patel.
Former
junior ministers who did not make it this time included Jaswantsinh
Bhabhor, Vasan Ahir, Ishwarsinh Patel, Jaydrathsinh Parma and Jeetu
Sukhadia.
Naranpura
MLA Amit Shah, Modi's Man Friday, who had to resign as Minister of
State for Home in the previous government after his arrest in the
Soharabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case, was also left out.
The
new faces in Modi's cabinet are Bhupendrasinh Chudasama, Babubhai
Bokhiariya and Ganpat Vasava, who was speaker in the outgoing assembly.
Saurabh Patel was elevated to cabinet rank after serving as Minister of State in the previous government.
New
junior ministers include Rajnikant Patel, Govind Patel, Nanubhai Vanani
and Jayantibhai Kavadiya. Modi's close aide Anandi Patel was repeated
as cabinet minister.
Modi has rewarded two MLAs for defeating Congress stalwarts despite criminal charges against them.
Purshottam
Solanki, who had defeated Congress' Leader of Opposition Shaktisinh
Gohil, is facing allegations of corruption in the Rs 400 crore fishing
contract scam.
Bokhiariya,
who has a murder case pending against him and is also alleged to be
involved in an illegal mining case, had defeated state Congress chief
Arjun Modhwadia from Porbandar.
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