Allies of BJP in NDA joined the union government on Sunday during the swearing in ceremony of the union cabinet at the Rashtrapati Bhavan and Janata Dal (Secular) leader and former Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy was the first among the BJP’s partners to take oath of office and secrecy.
Kumaraswamy took oath of office after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several senior BJP leaders including Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari and JP Nadda had taken oath of office.
The second leader among BJP’s allies in National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to take oath of office was also a former Chief Minister. Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) leader and former Bihar CM Jitan Ram Manjhi also joined the union council of ministers on Sunday.
While Janata Dal (Secular) JD(S) won only two seats in the Lok Sabha polls, Manjhi is the only representative of his party in the Lok Sabha.
Rajiv Ranjan Singh (Lalan Singh) of JD-U and Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) took oath of office after Kumaraswamy and Manjhi.
Both TDP and JD-U are crucial allies of BJP in NDA government. TDP has 16 MPs and JD-U has 12 MPs in the Lok Sabha.
Among other leaders from among BJP’s allies who took oath of office were Chirag Paswan of LJP (Ram Vilas) and Jayant Chaudhary of Rashtriya Lok Dal.
Kumaraswamy, Manjhi, Rajiv Ranjan Singh, Ram Mohan Naidu, Chirag Paswan and Jayant Chaudhary took oath as cabinet ministers.
BJP-led National Democratic Alliance has won its third succesive term in Lok Sabha polls. The NDA won 293 seats in the Lok Sabha polls with BJP getting 240 seats.