NDA Partners From Bihar Secured Most Berths In Modi 3.0 Government
With the BJP no longer holding an absolute majority in the NDA govt, its allies have negotiated hard for space in the Modi Government 3.0. Check out the ministries the BJP's allies negotiated for.
The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is no longer an 'only BJP' coalition. In the last two elections, the BJP had secured a full majority on its own, but it failed to do so this year. Amid the "give-and-take" coalition situation, the JD(U) and TDP emerged as the 'kingmakers'. Chandrababu Naidu's TDP with 16 MPs from Andhra Pradesh secured one cabinet berth, while the JD(S) from Karnataka, which won two Lok Sabha seats, also got one.
The lion's share of non-BJP MPs getting Cabinet berths went to Bihar, with Nitish Kumar's JD(U), Chirag Paswan's LJP (Ram Vilas), and Jitan Ram Manji's HAM getting one cabinet berth each.
So which portfolios did non-BJP parties from Bihar negotiate for at the Centre?
Non-BJP NDA Ministers From Bihar
JD(U)'s Rajiv Ranjan Singh, alias Lallan Singh, has bagged a Cabinet portfolio. He has been entrusted with the Minister of Panchayati Raj, and Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying. The JD(U) secured a minister of state berth too, with Rajya Sabha MP Ram Nath Thakur becoming the MoS for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
LJP (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan, with a strength of 5 MPs in the Lok Sabha, has been made the Minister for Food Processing Industries. Former Bihar CM and chief of the Hindustan Awam Morcha Jitan Ram Manjhi bagged the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises portfolio on the Cabinet.
BJP Ministers From Bihar
From the BJP, Giriraj Singh bagged the Union Ministry of Textile, Raj Bhushan Choudhary secured the berth of MoS, Jal Shakti, and Nityanand Rai has been made the MoS, Home Affairs.
Other NDA Partners In Modi 3.0
JD-S leader HD Kumaraswamy has been included in the Union Cabinet, and given the responsibility of Heavy Industries and Steel Ministry, while TDP leader Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu has been given the Ministry of Civil Aviation. The other TDP leader part of the Modi government is Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani, who will be MoS for Rural Development and Communications.
Shiv Sena's Jadhav Prataprao Ganpatrao will handle MoS (Independent charge), AYUSH, and MoS, Health and Family Welfare, while RLD president Jayant Chaudhary has been made the MoS (Independent Charge), Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, and MoS, Education. Chief of Apna Dal (Soneylal) Anupriya Patel has been made the Minister of State, Health & Family Welfare; and Chemicals and Fertilizers.
RPI President Ramdas Athawale has been made the MoS, Social Justice and Empowerment.
Who Got What In Modi Cabinet 3.0
In his new cabinet, PM Modi retained Rajnath Singh as Defence Minister, Amit Shah as Home Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman as Finance Minister and S Jaishankar as Foreign Minister. Nitin Gadkari will remain the Road Transport Minister, while Dharmendra Pradhan will remain the Education Minister.
Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan has been given the Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and Rural Development Department, JP Nadda Health and Chemicals and Fertilizers, and former Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar the Energy department. Kiren Rijiju, meanwhile, is the new Minister of Parliamentary Affairs.
Jyotiraditya Scindia's ministry has been changed from Civil Aviation to Communications. Ashwini Vaishnav has retained Railways and has bagged the charge of Information and Broadcasting, and Electronics and Information Technology Ministry as well.