With 10 ministers being sworn-in on Thursday, Uttar Pradesh has the highest representation in the second Narendra Modi-led government, reported PTI. This is followed by seven from Maharashtra and six from Bihar. Uttar Pradesh sends 80 MPs to the Lok Sabha, while Maharashtra and Bihar send 48 and 40 legislators, respectively.
Three ministers each from Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana and Karnataka also took oath. The government also has two ministers each from West Bengal, Odisha and Madhya Pradesh. Though the BJP won all seven parliamentary seats in Delhi, only Harsh Vardhan – the winning MP from Chandni Chowk – has been included in the Cabinet.
Modi’s new Council of Ministers includes 24 Cabinet ministers, nine ministers of state with independent charge and 24 ministers of state. President Ram Nath Kovind administered the oath of office and secrecy to Modi and 24 Cabinet ministers. Among the 57 ministers, 19 are first-timers including Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah. The council of ministers includes six women.
However, the new Council of Ministers has no representation from Andhra Pradesh and the North Eastern states of Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Sikkim and Tripura.
The Bharatiya Janata Party had won 303 out of 542 Lok Sabha seats. In states like Gujarat, Rajasthan and Haryana, the party won all the seats while it made major inroads in West Bengal and Odisha.
Besides Modi, the ministers representing Uttar Pradesh are Rajnath Singh, Smriti Irani, Mahendra Nath Pandey, Sanjeev Balyan, Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, VK Singh, Santosh Gangwar, Hardeep Singh Puri and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi.
Ministers from Maharashtra include Nitin Gadkari, Prakash Javadekar, Piyush Goyal, Arvind Sawant, Danve Patil, Ramdas Athawale and Shamrao Dhotre. From Bihar, Ram Vilas Paswan, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Giriraj Singh, RK Singh, Ashwini Kumar Choubey and Nityanand Rai took oath.
‘Team is a blend of youthful energy and experience’
After taking oath as the prime minister for a second time, Narendra Modi on Thursday night said his team “is a blend of youthful energy and administrative experience”. Congratulating those who took oath of office, Modi tweeted, “It has people who have excelled as Parliamentarians and those who have had distinguished professional careers. Together, we will work for India’s progress.”
The Congress also congratulated team Modi. “We wish them the best and look forward to working with them on the growth and development of India and all its citizens.”
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