BJP president Amit Shah takes oath as Cabinet minister

BJP president Amit Shah took oath as a Cabinet minister as part of the Narendra Modi-led Council of Ministers on Thursday evening. Shah, a first-time Lok Sabha MP, defeated Congress's J Chavda from Gandhinagar in Gujarat by a record margin of five lakh votes.

A confirmation on the inclusion of Shah in the Union government came through a tweet by Gujarat BJP chief Jitu Vaghani, who put out a message congratulating the 55-year-old leader.

"Had a courtesy meeting with our mentor Amit Shah and gave my best wishes to him on his inclusion as a strong member of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's council of ministers," Vaghani tweeted.

This is the first time that Shah is part of Modi government at the Centre. He has served as the Home minister in Gujarat when Modi was the chief minister.

Meanwhile, speculation is rife over who would succeed Shah as BJP president, with the names of J P Nadda being seen as a possible choice. Some other names are also being talked about for the post including Bhupender Yadav.