Modi takes oath as Gujarat CM for 3rd term

Chief Minister of western India's Gujarat state, Narendra Modi, (L) and Governor of Gujarat, Naval Kishor Sharma wave before the swearing-in ceremony of Modi as Chief Minister for the third time at Sardar Patel stadium in Ahmedabad yesterday. Photo: AFP

Narendra Modi, who led his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to a historic third consecutive victory in Gujarat, was on Tuesday sworn in as chief minister for the third time at a grand ceremony here.
Governor Naval Kishore Sharma administered the oath of office and secrecy to Modi, who was wearing his trademark half-sleeved khadi kurta and saffron angavastram and took the oath in the name of god in Gujarati.
At the end of the formal ceremony, he bowed to thousands of BJP supporters who had filled the 40,000-capacity Sardar Patel Stadium in the heart of the city.
He also greeted BJP president Rajnath Singh and veteran party leader and mentor LK Advani who hugged him.
Also present on the occasion were senior BJP leaders, including Murli Manohar Joshi and former vice president Bhairon Singh Shekhawat. National Democratic Alliance (NDA) leaders like George Fernandes as well as chief ministers of BJP ruled states - Vasundhara Raje of Rajasthan, Shivraj Singh Chouhan of Madhya Pradesh and Raman Singh of Chhattisgarh - were present too.
Earlier a triumphant Narendra Modi on Monday sought to quash talk of him overshadowing his party, saying that he was not "bigger" than the BJP, which was his "mother". Modi was speaking to the newly-elected party MLAs who unanimously elected him as their leader for the next five years.