NDA 3.0 Government Announces Portfolio Allocations: Old Wine In New Bottle

Veteran leaders Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nirmala Sitharaman and S Jaishankar continued with their respective ministries of defence, home, finance and external affairs. Nitin Gadkari has also retained his ministry of road transport and highways in the portfolio allocations released by the President's office.

The portfolio allocation was done a day after the swearing-in ceremony and six days after the results of the gruelling 44-day, seven-phase, long elections were announced, giving the NDA a majority in the lower house of parliament. 

Shivraj Singh Chauhan, who had been upset after not being named chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, has been given agriculture and farmers welfare—a sensitive portfolio given the farmers' agitation that had swept the country a few years back and the continued agrarian distress.

J P Nadda, who led the BJP in this election, which saw the party’s strength coming down by 20 per cent, has been given his old portfolio that he held in NDA 1.0 ministry in 2014 of health and family welfare. Manohar Lal, who also is new to the central government, has been given urban affairs, which was earlier helmed by Hardip Singh Puri, who now retains just petroleum and natural gas.

In all, the BJP has remained the party that will continue to dominate most of the important ministries in the NDA 3.0 cabinet, despite its reduced strength. Analysts said the hard bargaining by the allies did not work and ultimately they had to agree that the top four ministries, as well as several other key ministries including railways, remain to be with the saffron party.

From among the allies, H D Kumaraswamy, JD(S) president and former Karnataka chief minister was given the ministers of steel and heavy industries; Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu of the TDP was given the much sought-after ministry of civil aviation, replacing Jyotiraditya Scindia, who has been made minister for communications and northeast affairs as a compensation.

Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh of JD(U) and a close associate of Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar has been given the fisheries and panchayat raj ministries. The idea seems to have been to give allies portfolios that will grant them influence within the states they are strong in, except in a few cases.

Ashwini Vaishnaw has retained his hold over the railway ministry and has also been given the ministries of information and broadcasting and electronics.