New Delhi: Breaking suspense over the allocation of ministries to the newly appointed cabinet ministers of Modi government 2.0, the Defence ministry has been handed over to former Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

Rajnath has taken the post from Nirmala Sitharaman, who has been handed over the charge of Finance Ministry, whereas Rajnath’s former portfolio-Home Ministry, has been handed over to former party Chief Amit Shah. The party is now likely elect new party Chief.

67-year-old Rajnath has been handed over one of the most important ministries considering the experience he holds in the politics and his reputation in the Northern part of the country.

He previously served as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and as a Cabinet Minister in the Vajpayee Government.

He has also served as the President of the BJP twice, 2005 to 2009 and 2013 to 2014.




Rajnath has also served as an Education Minister in the first BJP government in Uttar Pradesh in 1991.

Newly elected Modi government on Thursday swore-in 50 new cabinet ministers. Where on one hand several new faces have been inducted into the cabinet, several veteran faces like former Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and former External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj have been purged.