Narendra Modi Forms NDA 3.0 Cabinet With Old Comrades & Many New Faces

This will be the first time Modi will lead a coalition government with his party short of the half-way majority mark. Though political analysts believe partner parties will use the opportunity to make their mark on policy-making,  it is to be seen how far that would be possible given that the BJP is still the largest single party with 240 seats in Lok Sabha.

In the cabinet which was sworn in at the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhavan, it was clear that the BJP will remain the dominant party in council of ministers. However a large of new faces, many from among allies found place in the council. In all only 33 of the 72 members of the outgoing cabinet were part of the new council of ministers.

A look at the some of the key players in the Team Modi:

Narendra Modi: Third-time Prime Minister of India and the man who led the NDA coalition to victory this year in one of the most grueling elections India has witnessed, Modi is the man of the hour.

An RSS ‘pracharak’ or organiser in his early life, Modi gained fame as the man behind BJP leader L.K.Advani’s ‘Ram Rath yatra’ across India demanding the Ayodhya temple in 1990.

He became Gujrat’s chief minister in 2001 and served in that capacity till 2014, when a massive electoral victory brought him to Delhi as Prime Minister. An air-strike on Pakistan’s Balakot helped the BJP-led NDA gain an even bigger electoral victory in 2019. Under his watch, since then, India has taken on the mantle of the fifth largest economy in the world. 

Amit Shah: The chief architect of BJP’ victories in three general elections and many state assembly elections, Shah is also Modi’s most trusted lieutenant.

Modi’s constant companion and aide in reducing the Congress party’s influence in Gujrat, Shah emerged as one of the most powerful men in the state and in BJP once Modi became chief minister. 

After helping craft a win for the party in the national elections in 2014, he was made a cabinet minister and has held the home portfolio ever since 2019. 

Rajnath Singh: An RSS  man since the 1960s, Singh was involved in the JP movement of the 1970s and did a stint in jail during the emergency as a political prisoner.

He became an MLA from Mirzapur in 1977 and eventually in 1991, when BJP formed a government in Uttar Pradesh, the state education minister. In 2000, Singh became the chief minister of the state and is credited with improving the law and order situation in U.P.

He came to the centre as agriculture minister in 2003  and was later made party chief  in 2005. During Modi’s tenure as PM, Singh has held several key portfolios including Home and Defence. 

Nitin Gadkari: A man who rose in politics through student politics, Gadkari is known to be close to Nagpur, the RSS headquarters.

He has served as a minister in both Maharashtra and in the centre and is known as one of the most effective cabinet ministers in the Modi government. 

His stint as minister for road transport and highways will be remembered for the fast pace at which national highways were developed and for the introduction of electronic cars.

S Jaishankar: A career diplomat who was made external affairs minister by Modi in 2019, Jaishankar is rated as a successful minister who has managed India’s growing closeness with US and Japan even a he has balanced China and retained close ties with the Middle East. 

Son of India’s original defence strategist K Subramnyam who founded the think-tank IDSA, Jaishankar has served as the country's ambassador to both the US and China before becoming foreign secretary and then a cabinet minister.

J P Nadda: The 64-year-old Nadda has been BJP party President for the last four years.

A politician from the Himalayan state of Himachal Pradesh, he has earlier been health minister in the Modi government.

Shivraj Singh Chouhan: The former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh who is believed to have crafted both the BJP’s victory in the state assembly elections as well as the party’s sweep in parliamentary elections, has been brought to the centre, possibly as a reward.

As a student leader he was jailed during the emergency and has been a politician ever since. He first became CM of Madhya Pradesh in 2005 and demitted office in 2018. He again returned as chief minister in 2020 and served till 2023. After he successfully led the party to a victory in the state elections, he was replaced by a fresh face - Mohan Yadav.

Nirmala Sitharaman: Has been India’s finance minister since 2019 and has helped steer the country’s  economy during the difficult Covid years.

A product of JNU, she has earlier done a two-year stint as Defence Minister in the Modi cabinet and as BJP’s spokeswoman when BJP had not come to power. 

Jyotiraditya Scindia: From the former princely family of Gwalior, Scindia crossed over from the Congress to BJP four years back. He was appointed Minister for Civil Aviation a year later. 

He has a family background of politics. His grandmother Vijaya Raje Scindia was a stalwart of the Jana Sangh and a founder-member of the BJP, while his father Madhavrao Scindia was part of Congress chief Rajiv Gandhi’s hand-picked team of young ministers. 

Hardip Singh Puri: A close friend of the late BJP leader Arun Jaitley, Puri has been a successful minister who has steered several departments including petroleum and natural gas and urban affairs, well.

A product of the capital’s elite Frank Anthony Public School and Hindu College, Puri has been ambassador to Japan, UK and to the UN.  

From The Allies

H D Kumaraswamy: The JD(S) party president and a former Chief Minister of Karnataka, is a first time MP from Mandya in Karnataka. His party has been a key NDA partner for long. The 64-year politician is also son of former prime minister H D Devegowda. 

Lalan Singh: Chief Minister Nitish Kumar' right hand man and a leader in his own right in the JD(U) party is a third time MP from Bihar.

Rajeev Ranjan Sigh alias Lalan Singh has held several organisational positions in JD(U) and ministerial assignments in the past. 

Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu: Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu has been elected to the Lok Sabha for the Telegu Desam Party (TDP) for the third time.

Son of Yerran Naidu, a senior TDP member and Lok Sabha Member who died in a road accident in 2012, he is believed to be a trusted lieutenant of TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu.

Chirag Paswan: President of Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) and son  of popular Dalit leader Ram Vilas Paswan, Chirag has had a tumultuous foray in politics where he has had to deal with faction fighting within the party his father created. 

A third time MP, this time from Hajipur, Bihar, Chiarg has hopes of carrying on with his father’s legacy. In 2014 and 2019 he won from Jamui in Bihar. His party has been a NDA partner for long years in the past.

Jitan Ram Manjhi : A Dalit leader from Bihar, Majhi heads the Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM). He won Gaya Parliamentary reserved seat from Bihar and has ealier been chief minister of the stte for a short phase in 2014-2015. 

Between 1980 and 1990, he served in three consecutive cabinets headed by Congress chief ministers in Bihar.

The complete list of members of the Union Council of Ministers has 30 cabinet ministers, 5 ministers of state with independent charge, and 36 ministers of state. Their portfolios will be announced by the government in due course.