In a grand ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan, witnessed by over 8,000 guests from all walks of life, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and 72 ministers took the oath of office, marking the beginning of Modi Sarkar 3.0.
Of the
72 ministers
who have been sworn in, 30 of them are Cabinet ministers, five independent charge, and 36 Ministers of State. The portfolios will be announced later.
The new Modi government has been a balancing act — of caste equations and ally representations. Interestingly, the Modi Sarkar saw many old faces being inducted such as Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nirmala Sitharaman. There were also many fresh faces that found place in Modi’s Council of Ministers.
Let’s take a closer look at who they are.
JP Nadda
BJP party chief
JP Nadda
has returned to the Modi Cabinet. He was part of the first Cabinet of PM Modi from 2014 to 2019, helming the health ministry. In 2020, he took over as BJP chief, replacing Amit Shah.
In September 2022, Nadda was given an extension through which his tenure as BJP chief extended to the end of June.
Nadda is known for his keen organisational abilities. He began his political career with the ABVP in Bihar and at 31, he was appointed head of the BJP’s youth wing, the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), in 1991.
Shivraj Singh Chouhan
The new Modi Sarkar also features seven former
chief ministers
and Shivraj Singh Chouhan is one of them. After winning the Madhya Pradesh’s Vidisha Lok Sabha seat by a record margin of 8.21 lakhs, Chouhan, a former four-time chief minister, has found place in Modi’s Cabinet.
Popularly known as ‘mama’, he has become a wily leader with a mass appeal and is known for his unparalleled hard work.
It seems that the BJP is rewarding Chouhan for his efforts during the Lok Sabha campaign. In fact, the 65-year-old leader led the BJP’s campaign in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls in the state, presenting himself as one among the people, promising further development and no dearth of funds for populist schemes launched under his leadership.
Manohar Lal Khattar
Seventy-year-old ML Khattar has seen it all; from being an RSS worker, to chief minister and now Union minister.
In 2014, he became an MLA for the first time and became chief minister of Haryana. Ten years later, in March 2024, he was replaced by his confidante Nayab Singh Saini, to allow him a chance to become a Member of Parliament.
Contesting his first Lok Sabha polls from Karnal, Khattar defeated Congress’ Divyanshu Budhiraja by an impressive margin of over 2.35 lakh votes.
HD Kumaraswamy
HD Kumaraswamy of the JD(S) is one of the new faces in the Modi Cabinet. The son of JD(S) patriarch and former prime minister H D Deve Gowda managed to secure a Cabinet berth by allying with the BJP, at a time when his party was fighting the “battle for survival”.
The 64-year-old Vokkaliga leader has made no secret of his desire to become agriculture minister. He defeated Venkataramane Gowda of the Congress by a margin of 2,84,620 votes.
Jayant Choudhary
Jayant Chaudhary
of the RLD is another new face in the Modi Cabinet. He has been sworn in as a Union minister of state (independent charge). In the past, Chaudhary has been a member of the 15th Lok Sabha from 2009 to 2014 from Mathura.
Jayant Chaudhary was born in Dallas, USA, on 27 December 1978, to former Union minister Ajit Singh and Radhika Singh. He did his studies at the Sri Venkateswara College, Delhi University, and the London School of Economics.
Jitan Ram Manjhi
Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) chief and former Bihar chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi took oath as a Union Minister in the third Narendra Modi-led government.
Prior to the oath-taking ceremony, he had posted on X: “Will be a part of the programme at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence. There is good news for the people of Gaya and Bihar.”
Jitin Prasada
Until Sunday, Prasada of the BJP was a sitting minister in the Uttar Pradesh government led by Yogi Adityanath. However, he has now become a Minister of State in the new Cabinet.
Prasada’s elevation comes after he won the Pilibhit Lok Sabha constituency defeating Samajwadi Party’s Bhagwat Saran Gangwar. Notably, Prasada was once considered close to senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. He quit the Congress in 2021.
CR Paatil
The Gujarat BJP president, Chandrakant Raghunath Paatil, is a new face in the Modi government. He defeated his closest rival from Navsari in south Gujarat by a margin of 7.73 lakh votes.
A Lok Sabha MP from Navsari since 2009, Paatil was made state BJP chief in July 2020, replacing Jitu Vaghani. He has been known for his easy connect with the public and the ability to reach out to them in their hours of need.
Bandi Sanjay
The former Telangana BJP chief, Bandi Sanjay Kumar took oath as minister in the Narendra Modi Cabinet on Sunday.
Presently, the BJP national general secretary, Kumar retained the Karimnagar Lok Sabha constituency in Telangana with a massive margin of over 2.25 lakh votes in the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls.
Suresh Gopi
The actor-turned-politician is BJP’s breakout star this election. He helped the party open its account in Kerala, becoming the party’s first MP from the southern state after winning the Thrissur constituency.
Now, Gopi has been inducted as a Minister of State in the Modi Sarkar.
Jual Oram
Jual Oram, BJP leader from Odisha, has been sworn in as a Cabinet minister in the Modi 3.0 ministry on Sunday.
The 63-year-old served as a minister in Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s Cabinet from 1999 to 2004.
Oram was also a part of the first Modi Cabinet from 2014 to 2019 as the tribal affairs minister, but was succeeded by Arjun Munda.
Sukanta Majumdar
BJP MP Sukanta Majumdar has been sworn in as minister of state in Modi government 3.0 on Sunday.
His inclusion in the Modi government indicates that there will be a change in West Bengal BJP leadership. Majumdar had been appointed as West Bengal BJP president in 2021 after the party failed to defeat the Trinamool Congress in the Assembly polls.
Ravneet Singh Bittu
Ravneet Singh Bittu has been sworn in as a Minister of State in the NDA Cabinet. This despite his loss from the Ludhiana seat in the Lok Sabha elections.
Bittu switched from the Congress to the BJP ahead of the elections, but lost to Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring by just over 20,000 votes. The grandson of former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh, who was assassinated by pro-Khalistanis in 1995, Bittu is a known vocal critic of Khalistani elements.
V Somanna
From almost quitting politics to becoming a part of the Modi government, V Somanna has seen it all. A known Lingayat BJP leader had tasted defeat in the 2023 Karnataka Assembly elections, against CM Siddaramaiah.
However, he was granted a Lok Sabha ticket from the Tumakuru Lok Sabha seat and won by a margin of 1.75 lakh votes.
Savitri Thakur
BJP MP Savitri Thakur on Sunday took oath as minister of state in Modi government 3.0. Thakur won from Dhar (Scheduled Tribe reserved) seat in Madhya Pradesh in the Lok Sabha elections 2024.
Nimuben Bambhaniya
BJP’s Nimuben Bambhaniya has been inducted into the Union cabinet as a Minister of State. The 57-year-old defeated Aam Aadmi Party’s Umesh Makwana by a huge margin of 4.55 lakh votes in the Bhavnagar constituency.
She has served as the mayor of Bhavnagar for two terms between 2009-10 and 2015-18 and was the vice president of the BJP Mahila Morcha’s state unit between 2013 and 2021.
Raksha Khadse
The daughter-in-law of former BJP leader Eknath Khadse, Raksha has been sworn into the Modi Cabinet. She contested from Maharashtra’s Raver constituency and won.
Satish Chandra Dubey
BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP Satish Chandra Dubey from Bihar has been given an opportunity in Modi’s Cabinet. He has been a Lok Sabha MP from Valmiki Nagar Lok Sabha constituency from 2014 to 2019. After he was denied a ticket 2019, the BJP high command sent him to the Rajya Sabha.
Bhagirath Chaudhary
BJP MP Bhagirath Chaudhary, who won a bumper victory of 7 lakh votes from Ajmer, took oath as a Minister of State. He first became an MLA in 2003 and was then re-elected in 2013. After serving as the chairman of the Environment Committee in 2015-16 and 2016-17, the party gave him a chance to contest the Lok Sabha elections in 2019.
Annapurna Devi
BJP’s Annapurna Devi was inducted in the Modi Cabinet on Sunday. She was a prominent candidate from the Koderma constituency in Jharkhand.
Ajay Tamta
BJP MP Ajay Tamta has been administered the oath as a Minister of State by President Droupadi Murmu at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Sunday.
His image has been that of a simple, clean and controversy-free politician. Apart from friendly behaviour with workers at the organisational level, he has maintained his popular image among the public.
Kamlesh Paswan
BJP’s Kamlesh Paswan is a new face in the Modi Cabinet. He was earlier elected for a fourth time from UP’s Bansgaon (reserved) parliamentary seat.
Sanjay Seth
BJP leader from Jharkhand, Sanjay Seth on Sunday took oath as the Minister of State in the Narendra Modi-led Cabinet.
Harsh Malhotra
Malhotra, the first-time MP was administered the oath of Minister of Cabinet in Modi government 3.0. He won the Jamnapaar east Delhi seat against Aam Aadmi Party’s Kuldeep Kumar.
Kirti Vardhan
Kirti Vardhan Singh, who has been elected as BJP MP from Gonda Lok Sabha seat for the third consecutive time, has become a part of the Union Cabinet. He was administered the oath of the post of Minister of State.
George Kurian
George Kurian, the BJP state general secretary in Kerala, is the second minister from the southern state who got inducted into the Council of Ministers.
Chirag Paswan
Lok Jan Shakti party leader
Chirag Paswan
took oath as the member of Cabinet in NDA government’s third term. He won from Bihar’s Hajipur. Chirag is the son of former minister Ram Vilas Paswan.
Lalan Singh
Rajeev Ranjan Singh of the Janata Dal (United), commonly known as Lalan Singh, has been sworn in as a member of the new Union Cabinet. This will be his first stint as a minister in the Union Cabinet.
Groomed by socialist icon and former chief minister Karpoori Thakur, Singh is considered as one of the closest aides of Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar. An upper-caste Bhumihar leader, Singh is known for his political acumen.
Ram Nath Thakur
Janata Dal (United) leader Ram Nath Thakur, the son of Bharat Ratna Karpoori Thakur, was inducted into the third Narendra Modi government’s Cabinet. Thakur is a two-time Rajya Sabha MP from Bihar. He has been a parliamentarian since 2014.
Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani
The richest MP in Lok Sabha is also a minister.
Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar
of the TDP was sworn in as minister of state on Sunday.
A medical doctor, he stuck with TDP through thick and thin and that has been able to help him secure a ministerial berth in the Union Cabinet. Pemmasani defeated YSRCP’s Kilari Venkata Rosaiah, by a margin of over 3.4 lakh votes.
Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu
Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MP
Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu
took oath as minister at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Sunday. At 36-years-old, the TDP MP from Andhra’s Srikakulam Lok Sabha constituency is the youngest-ever Minister in Modi Cabinet 3.0.
On TDP getting a Cabinet berth, Ram Mohan Naidu said, “After a long time, TDP will have a Union Minister. We are very happy. We have the undivided attention of the Central government.”
Raj Bhushan Choudhary
Also known as Raj Bhushan Nishad, Raj Bhushan Choudhary has been included in the Council of Ministers this time. After losing the 2019 polls on a Vikasheel Insaan Party ticket, he contested from the BJP and defeated Congress candidate Ajay Nishad by more than 2.3 lakh votes.
Pratap Rao Jadhav
Buldhana MP Prataprao Jadhav on Sunday joined the Modi Cabinet and took oath as the member of Cabinet. Jadhav is a four-term MP and three-term MLA in the state. He was also a minister in the first Shiv Sena-BJP government between 1995-99.
With inputs from agencies
Link to article –
From JP Nadda to Chirag Paswan, the new faces in Modi sarkar 3.0
