Narendra Modi, without much doubt, became the Prime Minister for the third consecutive time. In his new beginning, the PM opted for his Cabinet by retaining the important leaders from his old team, including keeping the big four intact.
Rajnath Singh retains defence , Amit Shah stays home minister, Nirmala Sitharaman continues in finance and S Jaishankar keeps the external affairs portfolio.
Modi’s core team of ministers have also retained their portfolios with some shuffling in portfolios. Surprisingly, some members of parliament (MPs) despite winning the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, failed to make it to Modi 3.0. Here’s a look at who they are.
Ministers who won but are not part of Team Modi 3.0
1 – Anurag Thakur
The most talked about omission in Modi’s new Cabinet is Anurag Thakur, who posted his fifth term win from his stronghold Hamirpur in Himachal Pradesh.
In Modi 2.0 he held a prominent post of Information and Broadcasting Minister. Thakur initially was sworn in as a minister of state after the 2019 polls, but in 2021, he was promoted to the cabinet rank and given charge of the I&B portfolio.
However, despite another poll win this time, he is not on Modi’s team.
As per BJP leaders, the decision to bring JP Nadda back to the cabinet cost Thakur a ministerial role. The party leaders maintain that there could only be one minister from the hill state. Nadda too is from Himachal.
Now, Nadda is a Rajya Sabha MP from Gujarat and would technically be counted under that state’s quota.
A report by Economic Times cited BJP insiders saying that it is the loss of Congress turncoats in the by-polls that has played a key role in this decision.
In the Himachal Pradesh by-elections, four of the six Congress defectors lost on a BJP ticket, giving respite to the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu government. The Congress victory in four seats – Sujanpur, Gagret, Kutlehar, Lahaul and Spiti – has taken its tally to 38 in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly which currently has an effective strength of 65.
2 – Narayan Rane,
Rane, a former chief minister of Maharashtra, who won the 2024 Lok Sabha polls from the Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg seat in Maharashtra has lost out on a ministerial berth in new Modi Cabinet.
Rane, a former leader of the Shiv Sena and the Congress, joined the BJP in 2019 and was named the minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) in the second Narendra Modi government.
Assembly elections in Maharashtra are due later this year and denial of a ministry to Rane is appearing to be concerning among people in the poll-bound state.
3 – Parshottam Rupala
Parshottam Rupala, a veteran BJP leader, who served as a Cabinet minister in both the first and second Narendra Modi-led governments, missed a ministerial post in Modi 3.0 despite securing a massive victory in Gujarat’s Rajkot seat.
Rupala had served as Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying in the previous government. However, ahead of the 2024 LS polls, the ex-chief of Gujarat BJP made controversial remarks on Kshatriyas that resonated in neighbouring Rajasthan as well as the cow belt.
According to the ET report, due to resentment over this issue, PM Modi reportedly cancelled his scheduled rally in Rajkot and BJP decided to drop Rupala from the ministry.
4 – Faggan Singh Kulaste
Faggan Singh Kulaste, a tribal leader, who served as Minister of State for Steel and Rural Development, is another leader who despite winning the election from the Mandia (ST) seat in Madhya Pradesh by a good margin was not included in the NDA 3.0 dispensation.
Reports say Kulaste has been dropped due to his lackluster performance. He had been removed earlier too from Modi’s Council of Ministers, allegedly due to some wrongdoings.
5 – Ajay Bhatt
Ajay Bhatt had held the portfolio of Minister of State for Defence and Tourism. He won from Nainital-Udhamsingh Nagar Lo Sabha seat by a margin of 3,34,548 votes, but as per ET report BJP has gone for a Dalit face, keeping local politics in mind.
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Modi 2.0 ministers who won, but didn’t make it to NDA 3.0 Cabinet
