Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari Sworn In, Rejoin Cabinet
Top cabinet ministers Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, and Nitin Gadkari took oath on Sunday as the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance formed the government.
Amit Shah won the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat in Gujarat by defeating his nearest Congress rival Sonal Patel by a margin of more than 7.44 lakh votes. His electoral prowess extends beyond strategising, with over 180 public meetings and road shows held across the country after the announcement of the Lok Sabha poll schedule by the Election Commission.
Often referred to as India's 'second most powerful man', Shah has been instrumental in the BJP's rise, shaping the party's electoral fortunes with strategic acumen comparable to Chanakya.
Rajnath Singh, hailing from Chandauli district, Uttar Pradesh, is known as a moderate face, respected across party lines. The 72-year-old Singh, with a political career spanning over five decades, took oath as a member of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Cabinet.
Singh, who was elected for another term as party president in January 2013, retained the prestigious Lucknow constituency in the Lok Sabha polls. Serving as Union Home Minister in Prime Minister Modi's first tenure, he has been Defence Minister since 2019, initiating measures to strengthen India's combat readiness along the China border and bolster defence manufacturing.
Nitin Gadkari, a 67-year-old leader from Nagpur, Maharashtra, has been the longest-serving Minister for Road Transport & Highways, holding the portfolio in the last two governments led by Narendra Modi.
Gadkari is credited with constructing over 90,000 km of national highways and 30,000 km of new roads in the last decade.
His national political career began as BJP president in 2009. Since his debut in the Lok Sabha polls from Nagpur in 2014, he has handled various portfolios including Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Shipping, Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj.
Having served as a member of the Maharashtra legislative council from the Nagpur Graduates' constituency from 1989 to 2014, Gadkari became a state minister in 1995, overseeing the Public Works Department.
Under his tenure, significant infrastructure projects like the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, 54 flyovers in Mumbai, and the Bandra-Worli Sea Link were conceived and executed.
With PTI inputs...
Watch the live streaming of swearing-in ceremony here:
