Narendra Modi, who powered BJP to an emphatic victory in Gujarat, was on Wednesday sworn in as Chief Minister for the fourth time as the head of a 17-member ministry, in a ceremony boycotted by Opposition Congress and NDA ally JD(U).
Mr. Modi was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor Kamla Beniwal at a public ceremony 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.
Mr. 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.
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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,” Mr. Modi tweeted after the ceremony.
“My thanks to people, senior leaders & spiritual leaders who graced the occasion & to all who watched the event live,” Mr. Modi said.
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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 L.K. Advani, Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley, the party's leaders in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha respectively, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and his Chhattisgarh and Karnataka counterparts Raman Singh and Jagdish Shettar were present.