Modi At Naidu Oath-Taking: Times When PM Attended Swearing-In Of Allies In States... Or Didn't

PM Modi attending the swearing-in ceremony of Chandrababu Naidu gave the TDP-BJP partnership a boost. Here's a look at the previous occasions when PM Modi graced (or didn't) such events by his allies.

Chandrababu Naidu Swearing-In: It was one of those rare occasions on Wednesday when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was seen attending the swearing-in ceremony of an ally. As Chandrababu Naidu, the chief of Bharatiya Janata Party's ally Telugu Desam Party (TDP), took to the dais and read his oath for the Office of the Chief Minister, PM Narendra Modi sat on the stage clapping, along with hundreds of TDP supporters, including film stars and other eminent personalities, attending the event.

PM Modi doesn't often attend swearing-in ceremonies of chief ministers. However, he is known to boost ties within the BJP-led NDA by showing up at the swearing-in ceremonies of the allies. The in-person attendance of PM Modi surely raises the quotient of the BJP's alliances.

When PM Modi Attended Swearing-In Ceremonies Of NDA Leaders

Neiphiu Rio, 2023

PM Modi attended the oath-taking ceremony of Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio on March 7, 2023, in Kohima. Along with Rio, TR Zeliang and Y Patton took oath as his deputies. Neiphiu Rio and TR Zeliang are leaders of the Nagaland People's Democratic Party (NDPP), a component of the National Democratic Alliance and the North East Democratic Alliance, and Y Patton is a BJP leader. Neiphiu Rio is the only CM of Nagaland to have taken oath five times.

PM Modi, however, did not attend Neiphiu Rio's predecessor TR Zeliang's oath-taking ceremonies in 2017 and 2014.

Conrad Sangma, 2023

The same day (March 7, 2023), PM Modi attended the ceremony where another NDA leader from the Northeast, Conrad Sangma, took oath as the Chief Minister. Conrad Sangma, president of the National People's Party, took charge of the Meghalaya government in the presence of PM Modi.

Although Sangma's NPP is part of the BJP-led NEDA, it went into the 2023 Meghalaya assembly elections without a pre-poll alliance. Sangma's candidature as the CM was later supported by the BJP-led NEDA.

Mufti Mohammad Saeed, 2015

Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, chief of the Jammu & Kashmir People's Democratic Party, took oath as the sixth Chief Minister of the erstwhile undivided state on March 1, 2015. The PDP was then an ally of the BJP, which is why Prime Minister Narendra Modi chose to attend Mufti Mohammad Sayeed's oath-taking ceremony. However, when Sayeed's daughter Mehbooba Mufti took oath as the first woman CM of the state, Narendra Modi skipped the ceremony.

When Modi Skipped The Oath-Taking Of NDA Leaders As CM

Narendra Modi understandably skipped a few events in the first few months as he set things in order after taking charge as the Prime Minister of India for the first time. However, after that, he made a few exceptions as he skipped oath-taking ceremonies of NDA leaders. 

Notable leaders of BJP's alliance whose swearing-in ceremonies PM Modi did not attend were TR Zeliang (When NPF was part of NDA), Mehbooba Mufti (when PDP was part of NDA), Eknath Shinde (when he took oath after rebelling against Uddhav Thackeray), and Jayalalithaa, O Panneerselvam and E Palaniswami (when AIADMK was still part of the NDA). 

Interestingly, all these leaders were in the middle of controversies or their parties were going through crises at the time they took oath as CM.

Mehbooba Mufti: While PM Modi was on a foreign tour at the time Mehbooba Mufti assumed charge of the J&K CM's office, the BJP-PDP alliance was already starting to shake because of the PDP's perceived "softness" for Pakistan. Mufti Mohammad Sayeed had already stirred a controversy immediately after swearing in as CM by hailing "people across the border" for the "success of the Assembly polls". Mehbooba defended his statement. A year later, when Mehbooba took oath as the CM, PM Modi gave it a miss.

O Panneerselvam: The tug of war for the AIADMK's charge after J Jayalalithaa was already in the making when Pannerselvam took oath as Tamil Nadu's CM in 2015, for a second time and after nearly 10 years. AIADMK was stung by Jayalalithaa's disproportionate assets case when he took over as the CM. He stepped down to make way for Jayalalithaa who was acquitted in 2015. His third term (as interim CM) in 2017, too, wasn't long as AIADMK leaders opposed him and elected E Palaniswami as CM. 

J Jayalalithaa: The flamboyant Tamil actor-turned-politician had just been acquitted in a disproportionate assets case when she returned as the CM of Tamil Nadu in 2015. She had chosen to skip Narendra Modi's swearing-in as Prime Minister a year ago after he decided to invite then Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

TR Zeliang: Taditui Rangkau Zeliang, leader of the Naga People's Front, became CM in 2014 but was forced to step down after his administration tried to implement a 33% reservation for women in local polls. He cleared a floor test that year and was sworn in as CM, but faced stiff opposition from NPF leaders who favoured Neiphiu Rio. These leaders then formed the NDPP with Rio at the head.

E Palaniswami: E Palaniswami's ascent to the CM's chair was marked by infighting as Sasikala and O Panneerselvam sought to take charge of the AIADMK.

Eknath Shinde: Now, counted among the most staunch supporters of the BJP, Eknath Shinde bagged the CM's post after a rebellion against Uddhav Thackeray in 2022. His move nearly crippled Thackeray, who was the CM at that point and pushed Maharashtra into a deep political crisis.