Modi 2.0: Prominent faces of the 58-member ministerial team

This is the fourth time that swearing-in was held in the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan.

The last three occasions were - Chandrashekhar in 1990, Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 1998 and Narendra Modi in 2014.

Modi, 68, was administered the oath of office and secrecy by President Ram Nath Kovind at a glittering ceremony at the forecourt of majestic Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi with approximately 8000 people in attendance. 

Top political leaders like Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and son Rahul, industry leaders like Mukesh Ambani, Ratan Tata and film fraternity honchos like Karan Johar, Shahid Kapoor and Kangana Ranaut and a galaxy of leaders from Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) countries were present at the occasion.

Known as an astute strategist whose non-political interests range from playing chess and watching cricket to stage performances and listening to classical music, 55-year-old Shah is often hailed as the BJP's most successful president for crafting its way to power states after states.

A man with avowed aim of having the BJP rule from "panchayat to Parliament", Shah has built his party into a formidable army that has been forever marching on since he took charge as its president in July 2014.

The Home Minister in the outgoing government, on whom Prime Minister Narendra Modi banked on heavily in the last five years whenever there was a crisis, be it farmers agitation, violence in Jammu and Kashmir or Jat quota stir, has been appointed Cabinet minister again.

Many see a reflection of Atal Bihari Vajpayee's mannerism in Rajnath Singh and feel he has been carrying forward the party veteran's legacy as 'Ajatshatru, a man with no enemies. 

 

 

Once television's favourite bahu, BJP leader Smriti Irani has proved her mettle in politics too. She fought the 2014 Lok Sabha elections against Congress president Rahul Gandhi from the Gandhi family pocketborough Amethi and lost by a narrow margin of over a lakh vote.

In 2019, the fortunes reversed and she emerge victorious against Gandhi, hence earning the moniker 'giant slayer'.

Nirmala Sitharaman was the first woman to be appointed full-time Defence Minister of India in September 2017 -- and since then she has been assiduously trying to adopt a holistic approach in addressing the country's security challenges.

60-year-old Sitharaman, a Rajya Sabha member, is the second woman to take charge of the crucial ministry after Indira Gandhi who as the Prime Minister also held the portfolio in the seventies.

Known for his administrative prowess and innovative approach in addressing issues, Nitin Jairam Gadkari has been instrumental in pushing infrastructure development and reviving projects stuck for many years.

The 62-year-old senior BJP leader, often dubbed as one of the high performing ministers during the first term of Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government, is expected to be entrusted with key responsibilities in the second term too.

Subrahmanyam Jaishankar was a surprise inclusion in the government and was seated on the dais in the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan where the swearing-in ceremony took place.

Jaishankar is a seasoned diplomat who was the Indian government's pointsman for China and the US. He is the son of late K Subrahmanyam, one of India's leading strategic analysts, and a key member of the Indian team which negotiated the landmark Indo-US nuclear deal.

A politician with an uncanny knack for sensing which way the wind is blowing, Lok Janshakti Party chief Ram Vilas Paswan has a rare distinction of serving as a minister in the cabinets of six prime ministers.

Paswan Thursday took oath as Cabinet minister. 

The septuagenarian had started off as a member of the Bihar legislative assembly in the 1960s and shot to fame in the 1977 post-Emergency Lok Sabha polls when he won Hajipur seat by over four lakh votes, then a record margin.

From a counsel holding the brief for the deity 'Ram Lalla' in the Ayodhya title suit to a moderniser spearheading the 'Digital India' initiative and clamping down on contentious practices like instant triple talaq, BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad has worn many hats.

Winning his maiden election against colleague-turned opponent Shatrughan Sinha from Patna Sahib seat in Bihar by more than 2.84 lakh votes, 65-year-old Prasad is among the few BJP leaders who have been a minister in every NDA government that came to power at the Centre in last two decades.

From a student leader associated with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad in Udupi to now a union minister in the Modi government for the second time, D V Sadananda Gowda has covered a long way.

The lawyer-turned-politician registered his fourth entry to Parliament by defeating Congress heavyweight Krishna Byre Gowda, a member of the H D Kumaraswamy ministry, in the recently-concluded Lok Sabha election.