Modi 2.0: Shiv Sena's Arvind Sawant to take oath as minister

Mumbai, May 30: Arvind Sawant, Shiv Sena MP from Mumbai South, will be sworn in as Union minister on Thursday, a senior party leader said.

"From Shiv Sena one leader will take oath as a minister. Uddhav ji has given Arvind Sawant's name, he will take oath as a minister," ANI quoted Sanjay Raut as saying. "It is decided that there will be one minister from each ally," he added.

Arvind Sawant will replace Anant Geete, the lone Shiv Sena minister in the previous Narendra Modi-led government, who lost from the Raigad Lok Sabha seat in last month's election, the leader said on Wednesday.

Arvind Sawant, 68, who retained his seat by defeating Congress' Milind Deora by 1,00,067 votes, has been associated with the Shiv Sena since the party's early years.

Arvind Sawant worked as an engineer with Mahanagar Telephone Network Ltd (MTNL) till 1995 and took voluntary retirement after he was nominated to the Maharashtra Legislative Council from governor's quota when Shiv Sena-BJP government came to power in 1995.

Arvind Sawant was elected as MLC from the Mumbai Local bodies constituency. He contested the Lok Sabha election for the first time in 2014, defeating Deora, then an MP, from the Mumbai South seat by 1,28,564 votes.

Arvind Sawant is a deputy leader of the Shiv Sena, and also president of the MTNL trade union.

For a second term, PM Narendra Modi is all set to take oath with a new council of ministers on Thursday. A multi-layered security arrangement is in place in the national capital Delhi.

(with PTI inputs)