No Muslim representation in Modi's new government

In a significant development, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's newly-elected government in India does not include a single Muslim minister, marking a historic shift. At Modi's oath-taking ceremony on Sunday, where he was sworn in for his third term, his cabinet of 30 federal ministers and 41 state ministers lacked Muslim representation. This absence is attributed to the fact that no Muslims were elected from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the recent general elections.

This is the first time since India's independence that a newly elected council of ministers does not have a Muslim member. The 18th Lok Sabha, the lower house of parliament, now has only 24 Muslim members out of 543, with 21 from the opposition INDIA bloc and three from the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM).

The first meeting of Modi's new cabinet will be held this evening, where they will request President Droupadi Murmu to convene a parliamentary session soon. Modi's BJP did not secure a clear majority this time, requiring support from allies within the NDA to retain power, a notable setback as pre-election surveys and exit polls had predicted a larger victory for the BJP.

Despite the absence of Muslim representation, Modi's conciliatory remarks post-election emphasized the importance of unanimity in governance. He stated, "We have won the majority ... but to run the country it is unanimity that is crucial ... we will strive for unanimity."

Modi, originally a publicist for the Hindu nationalist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), becomes only the second person after Jawaharlal Nehru to serve a third consecutive term as prime minister. His election campaign was marked by religious rhetoric and criticism of the opposition for allegedly favoring India's minority Muslims, who number around 200 million.