Modi 3.0 | From Chirag Paswan to Lalan Singh, BJP allies who got key cabinet posts
The Modi 3.0 cabinet portfolios were announced today, with the top four ministries being retained by senior BJP leaders.
A day after the swearing-in of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his council of ministers, the portfolios of all Union ministers, including the Cabinet ministers, were announced. While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) retained majority of the cabinet berth, five of the ministries were allotted to leaders from ally political parties.
The top four ministries were retained by key BJP leaders Amit Shah (Home), Rajnath Singh (Defence), S Jaishankar (External Affairs) and Nirmala Sitharaman (Finance).,
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Five important ministries have been allotted to BJP allies from LJP (RV), JD(U), TDP, JD(S) and HAM(S). JD(U) and TDP played an important role in the formation of the new NDA government since BJP did not cross the majority mark on its own.
NDA leaders such as Chirag Paswan, Lalan Singh, Jitan Ram Manjhi, HD Kumaraswamy and Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu were alloted a place in the Union Cabinet, while the other ministries were allotted to 25 BJP leaders.
Read more: Modi Cabinet: Home portfolio allocated to Amit Shah, key posts with BJP | List
NDA allies who got key cabinet posts
HD Kumaraswamy (JDS) - Minister of Heavy Industries, Minister of Steel
Jitan Ram Manjhi (HAM) - Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME)
Lalan Singh (JDU) - Minister of Panchayati Raj; Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying.
Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu (JDS) - Minister of Civil Aviation
Chirag Paswan (LJP- Ram Vilas) - Minister of Food Processing Industries
Among other new entrants to the Union Cabinet, former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has been allocated Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry, while BJP president J P Nadda has been given the Health Ministry, a portfolio he had held in the first term of the Modi government.
Other key BJP leaders who retained their spot in the cabinet are Ashwini Vaishnaw as Railways and IT Minister, Dhamendra Pradhan as the Education Minister, Hardeep Singh Puri as Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister and Piyush Goyal as Commerce and Industry minister.
