Among the newly appointed Union Cabinet members, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, has been assigned agriculture and rural development portfolios. Additionally, BJP president J P Nadda has been given the responsibility of the health portfolio, while Manohar Lal Khattar, the former chief minister of Haryana, will oversee the power portfolio.
Here is a list of portfolios allocated to BJP’s NDA allies in Modi 3.0 govt:
HD Kumaraswamy: Minister of steel and heavy industries
H D Kumaraswamy, a prominent JD(S) leader and former chief minister of Karnataka, was allotted the ministry of steel and heavy industries, even though he had earlier expressed his interest in becoming agriculture minister.
The 64-year old leader thanked PM Modi for the new post in the union government. In a post on ‘X’, Kumaraswamy wrote, “I am deeply grateful to the Hon’ble Prime Minister, Shri @narendramodi , for appointing me as the Minister of Steel and Heavy Industries in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, in its third consecutive term.”
Kumaraswamy took the oath of office as a Cabinet Minister in the NDA government led by PM Modi on Sunday. In the recent Lok Sabha elections, Kumaraswamy emerged victorious in the Mandya constituency, defeating Congress candidate Venkataramane Gowda by a substantial margin of 2,84,620 votes.
Jitan Ram Manjhi: Minister of micro, small and medium enterprises
Jitan Ram Manjhi, at the age of 79, has become the most senior minister to take the oath of office. The Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) was founded by Manjhi, who also served as Bihar‘s 23rd chief minister.
In Nitish Kumar’s Cabinet, Manjhi had previously held the position of minister for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes welfare. In the 2024 general elections, he emerged victorious in the Gaya constituency.
Lalan Singh: Minister of panchayati raj and minister of fisheries, animal husbandry and dairying
Rajiv Ranjan Singh, also known as Lalan Singh, a prominent member of the Janata Dal (United), took the oath as a minister following the swearing-in ceremony of PM Modi at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Sunday. Singh’s inclusion in the council of ministers comes after Nitish Kumar, the leader of JD(U), formed an alliance with the NDA to contest the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The JD(U)’s impressive performance in the recent polls, securing 12 Lok Sabha seats, guaranteed the party’s representation in the new cabinet. As a result, Lalan Singh, along with other JD(U) members, were expected to receive ministerial positions in the government.
Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu: Minister of civil aviation
Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu, MP from Srikakulam representing Telugu Desam Party (TDP), has made history by becoming the youngest minister in PM Modi’s newly formed Council of Ministers at the age of 36.
As a Minister of State (MoS), Naidu brings a fresh perspective and youthful energy to the government.
Chirag Paswan: Minister of food processing industries
Chirag Paswan is leader of the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), secured a resounding victory in the Hajipur constituency of Bihar, defeating Shiv Chandra Ram of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) by a margin of over 1.70 lakh votes.
Apart from Chirag Paswan, PM Modi inducted seven other Members of Parliament from Bihar into his council of ministers. Four of these MPs belong to the BJP’s allies, a strategic move that is being perceived as an attempt by the party to maintain a balanced caste equation ahead of the state assembly elections scheduled for next year.