Narendra Modi is set to take the oath as India's Prime Minister for the third consecutive term today. The focus is not only on Modi but also on the composition of his new cabinet. Discussions are rampant about which leaders will be included in the Modi 3.0 government. According to reports, 65 leaders will be sworn in as ministers alongside PM Modi.
Notably, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) did not secure a majority this time and is forming the government with the support of its National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners. Consequently, some NDA allies will also get cabinet positions, leading to the exclusion of some key BJP leaders such as Smriti Irani and Rajeev Chandrashekar. Here is a list of those who will not be part of the Modi cabinet this time.
Leaders Excluded From The Cabinet
In Modi's second term, leaders like Smriti Irani and Rajeev Chandrashekar held major ministerial roles. Anurag Thakur was in charge of the sports ministry. However, in Modi 3.0, a total of 20 leaders will not be included in the cabinet. A meeting of the prospective minister's residence, and these leaders did not attend, confirming their exclusion.
Anurag Thakur, regarding not being included, said, "Those who got a place are worthy of congratulations. I am a BJP worker. Being elected as an MP for the fifth time is an honour for me." He congratulated the cabinet and said that the country will develop and reach new height, ABP News reported.
The leaders who were excluded from the cabinet:
- Smriti Irani
- Anurag Thakur
- Rajeev Chandrasekhar
- Ajay Mishra Teni
- General VK Singh
- Narayan Rane
- Ajay Bhatt
- Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti
- Meenakshi Lekhi
- Rajkumar Ranjan Singh
- RK Singh
- Arjun Munda
- Nisith Pramanik
- Subash Sarkar
- John Barla
- Bharti Pawar
- Kapil Patil
- Bhagwat Karad
It is to be noted that some of these leaders faced election defeats, while others were not even given a ticket this time. Some leaders who were given tickets and won their seats have still been excluded from the cabinet.
Leaders Who Won but Were Excluded:
Ajay Bhatt, Anurag Thakur, and Narayan Rane won their respective seats with major marh=gins but were not included in the cabinet.
Leaders Who Lost Elections:
Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, RK Singh, Arjun Munda, Smriti Irani, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Nitish Pramanik, Ajay Mishra Teni, Subhas Sarkar, Bharti Pawar, Raosaheb Danve, and Kapil Patil faced defeat in the elections.
Leaders Denied Tickets:
Meenakshi Lekhi, Rajkumar Ranjan Singh, General VK Singh, John Barla, and Ashwini Choubey were not given tickets to contest in this election.