Modi sworn in as CM for third term

It was a saffron surge at the jam-packed Sardar Patel Stadium in the heart of Ahmedabad as thousands of supporters waved saffron scarves to greet Narendra Modi, who took oath as chief minister for the third consecutive term.

The swearing-in ceremony, scheduled for 12.50 pm, was postponed by an hour. The ceremony was attended by around 100,000 BJP supporters.

Unlike his previous oath-taking, when leading industrialists like the Ambanis and the Ruias were present, there was hardly any presence from the corporate houses this time. Modi (57), who powered his party to a fourth consecutive win, was sworn in by Governor Nawal Kishore Sharma.

Those present were the BJP's prime ministerial candidate, LK Advani, party President Rajnath Singh, senior leader Murli Manohar Joshi, party chief ministers from Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh, and former vice-president Bhairon Singh Shekhawat.

NDA convenor George Fernandes and Manohar Joshi, representing the BJP's oldest saffron ally, the Shiv Sena, also attended.

However, no senior leader from the party's other allies, the JD(U), the Akali Dal or the Biju Janata Dal, was present.

Modi, attired in a brown kurta and a saffron shawl, took the oath in Gujarati in the name of God. He was the only one to take oath today and did a victory lap of the stadium in an open jeep with Advani and Rajnath Singh and a couple of state BJP leaders, including party unit chief Purushotam Rupala.

Modi, who has already earned the distinction of being the longest serving chief minister of the state, faced his first poll in 2002 in a year of taking over from Keshubhai Patel.