Modi 2.0: PM to meet ministers-designate before Thursday evening swearing-in

Ministers picked for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s new council will meet him at his residence at 4.30 pm on Thursday, shortly before the swearing-in ceremony, sources said. Modi, fresh from a landslide election win, will take the oath with his new team at 7 pm.

Final consultations

Earlier in the morning, Modi held a last round of talks with BJP president Amit Shah to finalise the council of ministers before sending the list to Rashtrapati Bhavan. The two had held several rounds of discussions over the previous two days. Shah’s Akbar Road residence was decorated for the occasion, and BJP general secretary (organisation) Ram Lal was among those who called on him.

Shah, credited with steering the BJP to 303 Lok Sabha seats, was believed to be joining the cabinet and was tipped for either Home or Finance, sources said.

Likely faces

Senior leaders from the first Modi government, including Rajnath Singh, Nirmala Sitharaman, Nitin Gadkari, Smriti Irani, Piyush Goyal, Dharmendra Pradhan, Prakash Javadekar, Ravi Shankar Prasad and Narendra Singh Tomar, were expected to return. Others tipped for berths included Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Sadananda Gowda, Giriraj Singh, Jitendra Singh and Gajendra Singh Shekhawat. Possible newcomers included Raosaheb Danve of Maharashtra, Kailash Chowdhry of Rajasthan and Prahlad Patel of Madhya Pradesh.

With Finance Minister Arun Jaitley opting out on health grounds, Railway Minister Goyal, who had stood in for him and presented the pre-election budget, was seen as a leading contender for Finance. The BJP made no official comment, saying the choice was the Prime Minister’s prerogative.

Allies

Allies including the Shiv Sena, JD(U), AIADMK, LJP, Akali Dal and Apna Dal were set to be represented, with each likely to get one berth. The Shiv Sena named Arvind Sawant, who defeated the Congress’s Milind Deora in Mumbai. The Akali Dal’s Harsimrat Badal was expected to return, the LJP passed a resolution backing its president Ram Vilas Paswan, Apna Dal’s Anupriya Patel was a likely pick, and the JD(U) was expected to name Ram Nath Thakur or Santosh Kushwaha.

Around 8,000 guests, including BIMSTEC leaders, Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, chief ministers, business leaders and film stars, were expected in the Rashtrapati Bhavan forecourt as President Ram Nath Kovind administered the oath to the 68-year-old Modi and his colleagues.

What happened next

Modi was sworn in for his second term on 30 May 2019. Amit Shah became Union Home Minister that month.

See also: BJP and political leaders.

Originally published on 30 May 2019. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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