The long anticipated reshuffle and expansion of the Union Cabinet got over as 43 Ministers took oath at Rashtrapati Bhawan on July 7. This is the first reshuffle in his Council of Ministers by Prime Minister Narendra Modi since he assumed charge for a second term in May 2019.
43 persons, including those getting a promotion, took oath, and they are a mix of youth and those with administrative experience, including former Chief Ministers.
Here are the updates:
All 43 Ministers have taken oath. All eyes on portfolios to be assigned to the new Council of Ministers.
Nitish Pramanik takes oath as Minister
Cooch Behar MP Nisith Pramanik switched to BJP from Trinamool Congress ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in 2019.
L. Murugan takes oath as Minister
L. Murugan is the Tamil Nadu BJP president. Under his leadership, the BJP made its entry into Tamil Nadu Assembly for the first time in 25 years. He is likely to be made a Rajya Sabha MP from Puducherry.
John Barla takes oath as Minister
A prominent voice from North Bengal, John Barla represents Alipurduars in the Lok Sabha. He was formerly a tea garden worker and a grassroots politician.
Munjapara Mahendrabhai takes oath as Minister
A prominent Cardiologist, Dr. Munjapara Mahendrabhai was famous for treating patients for a fee of ₹2. He also used to teach Medicine in a Gujarat medical college. He represents Surendranagar Lok Sabha Constituency.
Shantanu Thakur takes oath as Minister
Shanthanu Thakur represents Bongaon constituency of West Bengal in the Lok Sabha. Mr. Thakur is the son of former Bengal Minister Manjul Krishna Thakur. He is also the leader of the All India Matua Mahasangha.
Bishweshwar Tudu takes oath
He represents Mayurbhanj in Lok Sabha. Before entering politics, he was a Senior Engineer in Water Resources Department in Odisha.
Bharati Pravin Pawar takes oath as Minister
An NCP-turned-BJP leader, Dr. Pawar represents Dindori in Lok Sabha. She was awarded best woman parliamentarian award in 2019.
Rajkumar Ranjan Singh takes oath
The Manipur MP was a Geography Professor. He retired as Director of College Development Council in Manipur University.
Bhagwant Karad takes oath
This former Mayor of Aurangabad is a surgeon by profession. He runs Dr. Karad Multi Specialty Hospital & Research Center in Aurangabad.
Subhas Sarkar takes oath as Minister
Another first-time MP, Dr. Sarkar is a practicing Gynaecologist and a board member of AIIMS Kalyani. He has been associated with the Ramakrishna Mission.
Pratima Bhowmik takes oath as Minister
Ms. Bhoumik is a first-time MP from Tripura. A bio-science graduate, she practices farming.
Kapil Patil takes oath
A BJP MP from Bhiwandi, Kapil Patil has been chairman of the Thane District Co-operative Bank and has also served as president of the Thane Zila Parishad. In 2014, the politician from Bhiwandi, dissolved his congressional ties and joined the Bhartiya Janata Party. Thane being one of the biggest district in the State and its Municipal Corporation is controlled by Shiv Sena. The BJP is hoping to strengthen its base in the region.
Bhagwanth Khuba takes oath as Minister
Another Karnataka leader in the Cabinet, Mr. Khuba hails from Hyderabad Karnataka region.
Chauhan Devusinh takes oath as Minister
Chauhan Devusinh is a Lok Sabha MP for Kheda in Gujarat. Prior to entering politics, he was an engineer at All India Radio.
Ajay Kumar takes oath as Minister
The second time MP from Kheri, has been a MLA in Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly and Member in Kheri Zila Parishad.
B.L. Verma takes oath as Minister
Mr. Verma is a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha. Currently, he the State Vice-President of the Bhartiya Janata Party in Uttar Pradesh. Since 2018, Mr. Verma has been serving as the Chairman of U.P. State Construction and Infrastructure Development Corporation.
Ajay Bhatt takes oath as Minister
Ajay Bhatt represents the Nainital-Udham Singh Nagar Constituency in the Lok Sabha. Formerly he was the Leader of Opposition in Uttarakhand and State President of the Bhartiya Janta Party. Under Mr. Bhatt's leadership, the BJP won all the five seats from Uttarakhand during the Lok Sabha elections.
Kaushal Kishore takes oath as Minister
Mr. Kishore represents the constituency of Mohan Lalganj in the Lok Sabha. The politician is the national president of Parakh Mahasangh and State president of the party’s SC wing, Uttar Pradesh. He has also been a junior Minister in Uttar Pradesh government.
A. Narayanaswamy takes oath as Minister
The politician represents the constituency of Chitradurga at the Lok Sabha. Prior to his 2019 election to the Lower House, he was a Member of Karnataka Legislative Assembly from Anekal constituency. A Dalit leader, Mr. Narayanaswamy hit the headlines in 2019 when he was denied entry a Gollarahatti (a settlement of Golla/Yadava community) at Pemmanahalli in Tumakaru district. He, however, refused to file a police complaint saying he will change the hearts of the people. A week later, the same people welcomed him in a grand manner.
Annapurna Devi takes oath as Minister
Ms. Devi represents the Constituency of Koderma in Jharkhand. Formerly, as a member of Rashtriya Janata Dal, the politician has held office as Member of Jharkhand Legislative Assembly. She has served as Cabinet Minister in Government of Jharkhand, holding portfolios like Irrigation, Women & Child Welfare, Registration. She has also served as Minister of State for Mines and Geology in the Government of Bihar, at the young age of 30.
Meenakshi Lekhi takes oath as Minister
Meenakshi Lekhi is a lawyer in the Supreme Court of India and represents New Delhi Parliamentary constituency. She is also in the panel of Vice-Speakers, who presides over Lok Sabha proceedings in the absence of the Speaker. Ms. Lekhi, who chaired Joint Committee on the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019, had summoned Twitter, Facebook, Amazon and Google officials on the issues of privacy.
Darshana Jardosh takes oath as Minister
Ms. Jardosh represents the constituency of Surat in the Lok Sabha. Since 2009, she has held three consecutive terms at the Lower House of the Parliament. She is Director of ‘Sanskruti’, an art and cultural organisation
Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma takes oath as Minister
A five-time winner from the constituency of Jalaun, Mr. Verma is a prominent leader from Uttar Pradesh.
Shobha Karandlaje takes oath as Minister
Ms. Karandlaje represents the Udupi Chikmagalur Constituency in the Lok Sabha. She is currently the vice-president of Bhartiya Janata Party in Karnataka. Formerly, she has been a Cabinet Minister in the Government of Karnataka. Ms. Karandlaje is a close aide to Karnataka CM B.S. Yediyurappa. Earlier, the CM has routed for a ministerial position for Ms. Karandlaje.
Rajeev Chandrasekhar takes oath as Minister
Entrepreneur-turned-politician Rajeev Chandrasekhar was the vice-chairman of NDA in Kerala. He is also the party's national spokesperson. He represents Karnataka in Rajya Sabha. Mr. Chandrasekhar is the founder of Jupiter Capital which has its presence in technology, media, hospitality and entertainment. He was one of the litigants of the case that eventually led to Supreme Court striking down the draconian Section 66A of the Information Technology (IT) Act.
Satya Pal Singh Baghel takes oath as Minister
Formerly a Samajwadi Party member, Mr. Baghel switched to BJP in 2019. He was elected from Agra. He has served as a Cabinet Minister for Animal Husbandry, Fisheries and Minor Irrigation in Uttar Pradesh government. He has a Ph.D. in Military Science from Chaudhary Charan Singh University.
Anupriya Patel takes oath as Minister
The Mirzapur MP is the daughter of Apna Dal founder Sone Lal Patel. In the previous NDA government, Ms. Patel was the Minister of State in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
Pankaj Choudhary takes oath as Minister
A six-time MP, Pankaj Choudhary represents the constituency of Maharajganj, Uttar Pradesh. He has been in public life for over 30 years and has served as Deputy Mayor of Gorakhpur.
Anurag Thakur takes oath as Cabinet Minister
Former president of Bharatiya Janata Party’s youth wing, Mr. Thakur is a four-time MP from Hamirpur constituency in Himachal Pradesh. He is currently the Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs. Son of former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, Mr. Thakur has served in the Territorial Army. He was also the former president of BCCI.
G. Kishan Reddy takes oath in Hindi
Currently serving as Minister of State for Home Affairs, G. Kishan Reddy is the only BJP MP from Telangana. In 2009, Mr. Reddy served as the floor leader in the Andhra Pradesh General Assembly.
Parshottam Rupala takes oath as Cabinet Minister
A junior minister in Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Mr. Rupala is being made a Cabinet Minister.
Bhupender Yadav takes oath as Cabinet Minister
Bhupender Yadav has been representing the State of Rajasthan in the Rajya Sabha since 2012. Mr. Yadav is also national general secretary of the Bhartiya Janata Party. Prior to beginning his political career, he was a Supreme Court lawyer and also served as Government Counsel for important Commissions.
Mansukh Mandaviya takes oath as Cabinet Minister
Gujarat leader and Rajya Sabha MP Mansukh Mandaviya is the Union Minister of State for Ports, Shipping and Waterways and Union Minister of State for Chemical and Fertilizers. He is also being made a full-fleged Union Minister.
Hardeep Singh Puri takes oath as Minister
Mr. Puri, a former Indian Foreign Service officer, served as the Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations from 2009-2013. Currently, former diplomat holds office as Civil Aviation Minister and Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs.
Raj Kumar Singh takes oath as Minister
R.K. Singh, a bureaucrat-turned-politician, represents Arrah in the Lok Sabha. He is a Bihar cadre IAS officer and was District Magistrate of East Champaran in Patna. Mr. Singh was appointed by L.K. Advani to hold office as Joint Secretary in the Home Ministry from 1999-2004.
Kiren Rijiju takes oath as Minister
A prominent face from the northeast, Kiren Rijiju currently holds office as Minister of State at the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, and Ministry of Minority Affairs. He is being elevated as Cabinet Minister.
Pashupati Kumar Paras takes oath as Minister
A five time MLA from Bihar's Alauli, Mr. Paras is a member of the Lok Janshakti Party and brother of the late Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan. After his win in the 2019 parliamentary elections, he represents Hajipur in the Lok Sabha. Mr. Paras was recently expelled from the LJP by his nephew Chirag Paswan, who has threatened to go to court if Mr. Paras is made a Minister.
Ashwini Vaishnaw takes oath as Minister
A former IAS officer, Ashwini Vaishnaw joined the Bhartiya Janta Party after getting a Rajya Sabha nomination in 2019. Mr. Vaishnaw has been a private secretary to former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The bureaucrat turned politician represents the State of Odisha in the Upper House of the Parliament.
Ram Chandra Prasad Singh takes oath as Minister
Ram Chandra Prasad Singh is the president of the Janta Dal (United). Since 2010, Mr. Singh has been a member of Rajya Sabha from Bihar. Formerly an IAS officer belonging to the Uttar Pradesh cadre, Mr. Singh has also served as the principal secretary of Nitish Kumar.
Jyotiraditya Scindia takes oath as Minister
Formerly a member of Congress, Mr. Scindia joined the Bhartiya Janta Party along with his supporters in 2020. This led to the fall of Kamal Nath government in Madhya Pradesh, bringing back BJP to power in the State. Mr. Scindia was eventually made a Rajya Sabha member. Mr. Scindia belongs to the illustrious Scindia family of Gwalior. His grandfather, was the last maharaja of Gwalior. Mr. Scindia was Minister of State for Communications and Technology in the Manmohan Singh Cabinet.
Virendra Kumar takes oath as Minister
Educationist Virendra Kumar represents Tikamgarh at the Lok Sabha. Mr. Kumar has maintained his winning streak ever since 1996. He was the Pro-Tem Speaker of the 17th Lok Sabha. In the previous Modi government he was s Union Minister of State for Women & Child Development and Minority Affairs. He also has a PhD.
Sarbanda Sonowal takes oath as Minister
Mr. Sonowal is an MLA in the Assam Legislative Assembly. Formerly, he has held office as the Chief Minister of Assam and has also served as the Union Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs. A strong contender for Assam CM post, Himanta Biswa Sarma was made the Chief Minister and Mr. Sonowal is now being made a Union Minister.
Narayan Rane takes oath as Cabinet Minister
Mr. Rane is a former Chief Minister of Maharashtra and has also held office as Cabinet Minister for Industry, Port, Employment and Self-employment in the Maharashtra Government. Formerly a member of Shiv Sena and Congress, Mr. Rane is also the founder of a Marathi daily Newspaper Prahaar .
Ravi Shankar Prasad, Prakash Javadekar quit
Union Ministers Ravi Shankar Prasad, Prakash Javadekar are among those Council of Ministers who quit on Wednesday evening ahead of the Cabinet reshuffle.
According to a communique from Rashtrapati Bhavan, the President of India, as advised by the Prime Minister, accepted the resignation of the following members of the Council of Ministers, with immediate effect.
1. D.V. Sadananda Gowda
2. Ravi Shankar Prasad
3. Thaawarchand Gehlot
4. Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’
5. Dr. Harsh Vardhan
6. Prakash Javadekar
7. Santosh Kumar Gangwar
8. Babul Supriyo
9. Dhotre Sanjay Shamrao
10. Rattan Lal Kataria
11. Pratap Chandra Sarangi
12. Sushri Debasree Chaudhuri
List of Ministers who will take oath:
1. Narayan Tatu Rane; 2. Sarbananda Sonowal; 3. Dr. Virendra Kumar; 4. Jyotiraditya M. Scindia 5. Ramchandra Prasad Singh; 6. Ashwini Vaishnaw; 7. Pashu Pati Kumar Paras; 8. Kiren Rijiju 9. Raj Kumar Singh; 10. Hardeep Singh Puri; 11. Mansukh Mandaviya; 12. Bhupender Yadav; 13. Parshottam Rupala; 14. G. Kishan Reddy; 15. Anurag Singh Thakur; 16. Pankaj Choudhary; 17. Anupriya Singh Patel; 18. Dr. Satya Pal Singh Baghel; 19. Rajeev Chandrasekhar; 20. Shobha Karandlaje; 21. Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma; 22. Darshana Vikram Jardosh; 23. Meenakashi Lekhi; 24. Annpurna Devi; 25. A. Narayanaswamy; 26. Kaushal Kishore; 27. Ajay Bhatt; 28. B. L. Verma; 29. Ajay Kumar; 30. Chauhan Devusinh; 31. Bhagwanth Khuba; 32. Kapil Moreshwar Patil; 33. Pratima Bhoumik; 34. Dr. Subhas Sarkar; 35. Dr. Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad; 36. Dr. Rajkumar Ranjan Singh; 37. Dr. Bharati Pravin Pawar; 38. Bishweswar Tudu; 39. Shantanu Thakur; 40.Dr. Munjapara Mahendrabhai; 41. John Barla; 42. Dr. L. Murugan; and 43. Nisith Pramanik.
Babul Supriyo resigns as Union Minister
Ahead of a major Cabinet reshuffle, Union Minister of State for Environment Babul Supriyo resigned from the Union Council of Ministers on Wednesday.
Supriyo confirmed his resignation through a post on social media, "I have been asked to resign and I have." "I thank Prime Minister for giving me the privilege to serve my country as a Member of his Council of Ministers,” he posted on his Facebook account. — PTI
Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar resigns
Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar has resigned from the Union Cabinet ahead of the scheduled Cabinet reshuffle this evening.
Mr. Gangwar, who held the position of Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Labour and Employment resigned from his post early this morning.
When asked whether he has resigned from the post of Labour Minister, Mr. Gangwar answered in the affirmative. "Yes I have resigned," he told PTI.
He, however, said he is not aware what his new role in the government will be. — PTI
Harsh Vardhan resigns as Union Health Minister ahead of Cabinet reshuffle
With the much anticipated expansion of Narendra Modi government's cabinet is scheduled to be held at 6 pm on Wednesday, several ministers, including three seniors, have tendered their resignations to pave way for new faces.
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan has tendered his resignation.
Sadananda Gowda resigns as Union Minister
Union Chemicals and Fertilizers Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda on July 7 resigned from the Union Council of Ministers.
Mr. Gowda confirmed his decision to step down.
Besides being the Chemicals and Fertilizers Minister in the Narendra Modi government, Mr. Gowda has also held portfolios like Railways, Law, Statistics and Programme Implementation.
His resignation comes ahead of the expansion of the Union Cabinet scheduled this evening. — PTI
Pokhriyal, Dhotre resign from Union Cabinet
Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' and Minister of State for Education Sanjay Dhotre resigned from the Union Cabinet on July 7, according to sources.
Mr. Pokhriyal, who tested positive for COVID-19 on April 21, was admitted to AIIMS in June again following post COVID-19 complications. He has resigned from his post citing health reasons.
The former Uttarakhand Chief Minister took charge as the HRD Minister in May 2019. Mr. Dhotre, who represents Akola constituency of Maharashtra also took charge as MoS for Education, Communications and Electronics and Information Technology, in May 2019.
Their resignations comes ahead of the expansion of the Union Cabinet scheduled this evening. — PTI
Official residence of PM Modi is abuzz with activity
The long anticipated expansion of the Union Cabinet is set to happen at 6 pm on Wednesday, according to the Prime Minister's Office. No 7, Lok Kalyan Marg, the official residence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is abuzz with activity with a number of BJP leaders getting calls confirming their Cabinet berth.
Former Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia whose switch to BJP led to the fall of Kamal Nath government in Madhya Pradesh is likely to be made as a Cabinet Minister. Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Narayan Rane, former Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, BJP general secretary and Rajya Sabha MP Bhupendra Yadav, and Uttar Pradesh BJP Vice President B L Verma are among those who received a call.
Many women members to be inducted
A number of women members will also be inducted to the Cabinet. This includes Karnataka MP Shobha Karandalaje, Sirsa MP Sunita Duggar, Delhi MP Meenakshi Lekhi, and Maharashtra MPs Hina Gavit and Pritam Munde.
The expanded Cabinet will also include BJP allies namely Janata Dal (U) national president and Rajya Sabha MP R.C.P. Singh and Apna Dal leader Anupriya Patel.
Lok Sabha Members Kapil Patil (Maharashtra), Ajay Bhatt (Uttarakhand) and Shantanu Thakur (West Bengal) will also be included in the Council of Ministers.
Rajya Sabha MP from Odisha and former bureaucrat Ashwini Vaishnaw will also be made a Minister.
Chirag Paswan bristles at possible Cabinet entry for Pasupati Paras
After embarking on his Aashirwad yatra from Hajipur on July 5, Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) leader and MP Chirag Paswan on Tuesday said he would go to court if his uncle and expelled party leader Pashupati Kumar Paras was inducted into the Union Cabinet.
Amid Cabinet reshuffle buzz, eight States get new Governors
Ahead of a much anticipated Cabinet reshuffle at the Centre, Rashtrapati Bhawan has announced a slew of gubernatorial appointments, including that of Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Thawarchand Gehlot as Governor of Karnataka, replacing Vajubhai Vala. This was the surest sign that a Cabinet reshuffle, regularly postponed since the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020, will finally come to pass as early as Wednesday evening or Thursday morning.
Apart from Mr. Gehlot, among the fresh appointees are former MP and former BJP president of the erstwhile combined State of Andhra Pradesh K Hari Babu as Governor of Mizoram, senior BJP leader and former Tribal Affairs Minister in Gujarat Mangubhai Patel as Governor of Madhya Pradesh and former Speaker of the Goa Assembly Rajendra Arlekar as Himachal Pradesh Governor. Mr. Arlekar is the first Goankar to be made Governor in the State’s history.
(With inputs from Correspondents and Agencies)
