New Union Cabinet: From JDU to LJP, here are NDA allies inducted into Modi-govt

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government has announced its new cabinet today. After weeks of speculation over a Cabinet reshuffle, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all set to rearrange his cabinet. This year, many new faces were included in the Union Cabinet where women leaders from the governing NDA as well as marginalised communities found a seat in the cabinet. A total of 43 leaders took oath today in the Union Cabinet expansion. Among the many ministers were Pashupati Kumar Paras, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Bhupender Yadav, Shobha Karandlaje, Anupriya Patel, Meenakshi Lekhi, Ajay Bhatt, Anurag Thakur. Below are the profiles of NDA allies welcomed in the new cabinet reshuffle: Ram Chandra Prasad Singh from Janata Dal (United): Singh is a former civil service member and is one of the most trusted lieutenants of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. In December 2020, the Chief Minister of Bihar Nitish Kumar handed over JD-U to Singh by appointing him to be the national president of the party. RCP Singh was an IAS officer who turned politician and has also been a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha from Bihar since 2010. Pashupati Nath Paras from Lok Janshakti Party (LJP): He is the younger brother of former Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan. After Paswan’s death, Paras was unanimously elected as the leader of LJP in the Lok Sabha. The decision of electing Paras came after five of the six Members of Parliament (MPs) of the LJP joined hands and rallied behind Paras. Anupriya Patel from Apna Dal: She is the president of the Apna Dal (Sonelal) party. Patel is one of the seven women who are expected to be joining the new cabinet. She is also a member of parliament from Uttar Pradesh’s Mirzapur city, where her party is in alliance with the BJP. Currently, she is serving her second term as a Lok Sabha member. Earlier, she had been the Union Minister of State for Health during the first term of the NDA government. Patel began her political career with Apna Dal, which was established in 1995 by her father, late Sonelal Patel in eastern UP and Bundelkhand.