 "Modi 3.0: How upcoming polls influenced Modi’s portfolio allocation for new Cabinet")
A week after the Lok Sabha election results were declared, the Modi Sarkar 3.0 has finally taken form and is ready for the tough task ahead. On Monday (10 June), a day after Narendra Modi was sworn in along with 72 ministers, the portfolios have been allocated and we now know that Modi has retained the big four — home, finance, external affairs and defence — in an indication that he wants to focus on continuity.
While many would say that continuity is the biggest takeaway from this Modi sarkar 3.0, there’s another big matter to look at. A close look at the ministers show that the BJP is all gearing up for the Assembly elections in six states and Union territories. Several of the states that are going to the polls later this year have received substantial representation in the third Narendra Modi government.
Let’s examine this closer.
Who got what
Before we deep dive into how Modi has enacted a balancing act with his Cabinet, let’s take a better look at who has got what.
Modi has retained Rajnath Singh as his defence minister, Amit Shah as his home minister, Nirmala Sitharaman as his finance minister and S Jaishankar as his external affairs minister. He’s also given former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan the charge of the agriculture ministry while Haryana’s ML Khattar has been given housing and urban affairs along with the power ministry.
The BJP has also kept key portfolios including education, railways, road transport and highways. As the Indian Express reports, as many as 15 ministers from the previous term have retained their portfolios including Rao Inderjit Singh (Statistics, Planning); Jitendra Singh (Science & Technology, Earth Sciences, MoS in the PMO; Personnel; Atomic Energy and Space); Arjun Ram Meghwal (Law and MoS Parliamentary Affairs).
Impact Shorts
More ShortsHowever, keeping in mind the importance of his allies, Modi has also handed the TDP and JD(U) some key portfolios. For instance, PM Modi has allocated the key civil aviation portfolio to young TDP minister K Ram Mohan Naidu .
The JD(U)’s Rajiv Ranjan Lalan Singh has got panchayati raj and ministry of fisheries, animal husbandry and dairying. Chirag Paswan will continue in the footsteps of his late father Ram Vilas Paswan’s in the food processing ministry. Moreover, HD Kumaraswamy of Karnataka-based Janata Dal-Secular, has been given steel ministry, while former Bihar CM Jitan Ram Manjhi has got the micro, small and medium enterprises ministry.
Cabinet with an eye on the polls
But the allocation of ministries isn’t just about continuity. It’s also about Assembly elections in 2025. Later in the year, six states and Union Territories — Haryana, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi and Bihar — will go to the polls. And early next year, Assam in the northeast will also go to the polls.
In fact, the state of Bihar, bound for Assembly polls this year, finds sizeable representation in the Cabinet. Eight berths have been given to people from the state. They are: Chirag Paswan (Lok Janshakti Party-Ram Vilas), Giriraj Singh (BJP), Jitan Ram Manjhi (Hindustani Awam Morcha), Ram Nath Thakur (JDU), Lalan Singh (JDU), Nityanand Rai (BJP), Raj Bhushan Choudhary (BJP), Satish Dubey (BJP).
In fact, the BJP’s picks reflect a careful mix of castes, with two upper castes (Giriraj Singh and Satish Dubey), an OBC (Nityanand Rai) and an EBC (Raj Bhushan Choudhary). In fact, Raj Bhushan Choudhury, a political newbie and a doctor by profession, represents the Mallah community in the Nishad-dominated seat of Muzaffarpur. Moreover, with the inclusion of Ramnath Thakur, the son of Bharat Ratna Karpoori Thakur, who is still considered one of the most iconic leaders of the Economically Backward Classes (EBCs), the messaging is clear.
Another state which will go to the polls this year is Maharashtra. And considering the BJP’s less than stellar performance in the state, the party has ensured to give it better representation in the Cabinet. The state has got five ministers, including BJP heavyweight Nitin Gadkari. Of the five berths, the BJP has kept two and given one each to allies Shiv Sena and the Republican Party of India.
A fifth — a junior minister’s (independent charge) — was said to have been allotted to Ajit Pawar’s NCP . But the party’s nominee for government — Praful Patel — did not turn accept the job, terming it as a demotion.
Apart from Gadkari, the BJP has given Raksha Khadse, a young and prominent OBC face, the MoS charge in the ministry of sports.
Similarly, Haryana which goes to the polls this year, has been rewarded with three ministerial berths. Former BJP chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, who won from Karnal, has been made Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs; and Minister of Power.
BJP’s Rao Inderjit Singh, who has been made MoS (Independent Charge), and Krishna Pal Gurjar (MoS) have also found space in the Cabinet, reflecting the party intention for the elections.
The UT of Jammu and Kashmir, which will vote for its state Assembly election soon, for the first time since 2014, is represented by the BJP’s Jitendra Singh in the Modi 3.0. And Delhi, which will vote early next year, saw first-time MPs Harsh Malhotra (East Delhi) and Kamaljeet Sehrawat (West Delhi) being inducted.
The Cabinet has got two ministers — both from the BJP — from Jharkhand, which will also go to the polls this year. Annapurna Devi has been given charge of the women and child development ministry while Sanjay Seth has been made MoS in the defence ministry.
In 2026, Assam will also go to the polls and hoping to retain its sway there, the BJP has inducted two ministers from the northeastern state in the form of former state chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal, who has been given ministry of ports, and BJP Rajya Sabha MP Pabitra Margherita as a minister of state. As The Wire notes, the message behind that decision is clear. Margherita has been elevated to thwart the rise of three young and influential opposition leaders from the Ahom community that is key to winning several of eastern/upper Assam’s Assembly segments.
The portfolio allocation makes the messaging clear. While the national elections may not have gone the BJP’s way completely — they were unable to achieve the majority mark of 272 on their own — the party is already readying itself for the Assembly polls in an attempt to consolidate their power in the country.
Whether representation of leaders will help in their efforts, only time will tell.
With inputs from agencies
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